Germany and the Czech Republic help Russia to produce RS-28 Sarmat and Sineva missiles with nuclear warheads
Krasnoyarsk Machine Building Plant modernizes its equipment with new machines from the Czech Republic and Germany. The company manufactures space rockets and ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads: sea-launched Sineva and land-based RS-28 Sarmat (Satan-2 in NATO classification).
Russian state-owned Krasnoyarsk Machine Building Plant (Krasmash, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory) received from the Ministry of Defense an order for the production of ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, which should replace the obsolete Soviet missiles, the shelf life of which will expire in 2018-2019. Among them are the sea-based P-29RMU2 Sineva missiles (according to NATO classification, SS-N-23 Skiff), which is mounted on nuclear submarines of the Dolphin class and its modification of P-29RMU2.1 Liner. These missiles have been tested and put into service of the Russian Navy. But the most important project of Krasmash is the production of strategic nuclear land-based RS-28 Sarmat missiles (in NATO classification, Satan-2), which is the modernization of Soviet missile R-36M (in NATO classification, Satan, the timing of its operation expires before 2020). This missile will only begin the tests in 2017l, but now the Russian propaganda extols its tactical and technical characteristics.
The Russian media have been constantly publishing the articles with load headlines about the missiles, which have never even flied:
America is afraid of the Russian Sarmat missiles, which can reach it across the South Pole
In the US, the possible emergence of a new Satan is accepten in a utilitarian way. As the American military observers say, the emergence of such a missile initiates the reform process in the nuclear forces of the United States:
- The actual value of the RS-28 Sarmat is the impact that it will have on the debate over the modernization of the US nuclear forces. Most likely, this missile will begin to come into service next year, when Trump administration gains strength in the debate on the replacement of obsolete US Minuteman-3 missiles. In characteristic manner, President Trump himself said on Twitter that the US should "significantly strengthen and expand its nuclear capabilities." And among the American experts there are active debate about the wisdom of the concept of the use of nuclear missiles after a warning, as well as the appropriateness of the land-based ICBMs. It is not clear what the Trump's tweet could mean for the nuclear capabilities in the real world of the American military planning, not to mention the budget allocations. However, modernization of Russian nuclear-missile forces has a direct impact on US decisions on nuclear policy, writes Malcolm Davies in The National Interest.
But no Western observers wondered, how does Putin's Russia, not having its own machine tools and virtually its own engineering, manages to produce or to pretend that produces such weapons? Tanks, planes, guns, ballistic missiles? Who provides the Putin's regime with the latest machine tools, industrial centers and production lines? Regarding Krasmash, there's certain data that shed light on this issue. It turns out that in the production of new nuclear missiles, which the Russian Federation is going to use to threaten the United States, Moscow gets help from the Czech Republic and Germany.
So, the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant is currently implementing the program of modernization of its equipment, which was last updated in Soviet times, in the 1960-70s. The official cost of the project has been declared at 16 billion rubles in 2013 (0.5 billion dollars). The process is under constant control of the Russian Defense Ministry and its head Sergey Shoigu:
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu demanded to comply with the schedule of modernization of the Krasmash plant, whose capacity is planned to be used to produce the Russian Sarmat missile, the press service of the military informed. "I want to emphasize that any failure in the modernization of production lines can lead to the disruption of the terms established by the general schedule. All clearance limits, which we had left, are exhausted, and now we must go strictly in accordance with the confirmed schedule," said Shoigu during a conference call in the Ministry of Defense.
Russian media confirm that the plant receives new equipment, but out of modesty do not name the suppliers. But something flashed in the reports of Krasnoyarsk TV companies:
At the beginning of reportage it is stated that in 2016 the new equipment came to the plant. This is the VLC 4000 ATC + C1 - a modern carousel lathe with computer control. Such equipment is made by the Czech engineering company TDZ Turn, founded in 2006, which works in partnership with the German Siemens. Its website openly states that the Czechs are selling these machines to Russia, where their partner (distributor) is a company KR Prohm (originally the division of Kovosvit). To Russia, the Czechs deliver the machines of the latest series:
The first CNC controlled horizontal lathe HLC series was transfered to Czech customer in 2014. Till the end of 2016 there were another 5 horizontal lathes to Czech or Russian customers.
The video also mentions the equipment of the German company Demmeler. Why companies from NATO countries are supplying industrial equipment to a military plant in Russia, which produces strategic ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads is the question. Meanwhile, the Russian military leadership with great satisfaction hears reports on the production of missiles and demands the plant not to lose pace in the modernization of its equipment. Over the last year, Sergey Shoigu visited Krasmash several times and local officials proudly reported about the industrial achievements:
"State Order 2016 it regard to the Sineva missiles will be executed promptly and fully; all components are manufactured, the assembly of the products is close to the finish," Nazarko reported on Saturday to the Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu.
The general director also said that the modernization carried out at Krasmash would guarantee the company with orders for the long term. "Modernization will make it possible to manufacture a new generation of products with new technologies," stressed Nazarko. According to him, it is now possible to expand the range of products for the Ministry of Defense "in terms of diameter, and weight, and size characteristics." "The plant boldly looks into the future and is willing to work on a new subject," said the CEO, adding that the problem of import substitution cannot be applied to the plant, because all the components that are used by Krasmash are Russian products.