LOCATION: Address: Prospekt Kosmonavtov,
Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk
Oblast, 620017 Russia Telephone:
(3432) 34-99-48 Fax:
(3432) 34-44-97 Telex:
LEN ["Katalog
uchastnikov vystavok, 1999," EkspoServis Web Site,
http://www.netexpo.ru/.] {Entered 4/22/02 MJ} SUBORDINATION:
Russian Aerospace Agency (Rosaviakosmos) ADMINISTRATION: General Director: Pavel Kamnev Deputy General Director: Vyacheslav Gorbarenko [ITAR-TASS
Weekly News, 15 November 1999.] {Entered 4/22/02 MJ} Deputy General Director: Vladimir Ivanovich Volman ["Izmeneniya v
sostave Soveta Direktorov banka 'Severnaya Kazna'," PR.Uralonline Web Site,
http://pr.uralonline.ru/, 30 June 2000.] {Entered 4/22/02 MJ} BACKGROUND: The Novator
Design Bureau was established in 1947 as OKB-8 within the Kalinin
Machine-Building Plant in
Sverdlovsk (currently
Yekaterinburg) to design large-caliber anti-aircraft artillery systems.[1] It
remained a part of that plant until 1991, when it became an independent design
bureau, but maintained a relationship with the Kalinin
plant, which continues to produce missiles designed by the design bureau.[2] In
the late 1950s the design bureau was reorganized and began developing
anti-aircraft missile systems.[1]
Between 1946 and 1985 OKB-8 was headed by Lev Lyulyev,
whose efforts in creating new missile types for the Soviet military earned him
the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and a number of other prestigious state
awards.[3] The first missile system designed by Lyulyev's
bureau to enter service was the 3M8 ramjet-powered missile that was part of
the Krug [NATO designation SA-4 'Ganef']
long-range air defense system.[4] OKB-8 also designed the 53T6 endoatmospheric
ABM interceptor missile [NATO designation ABM-3 'Gazelle', SH-08] for the
A-135 strategic ABM system defending Moscow. The solid-fuelled, nuclear-armed
missile has a range of up to 80km and weight of 10t. Experience gained
in the design of the 53T6 was used in the design of the 9M82 and 9M83 missiles
belonging to the S-300V [NATO designation SA-12 'Gladiator'] long-range air
defense system, which has some capability against non-strategic ballistic
missiles.[5]
OKB-8 was the USSR's
sole developer of submarine-launched ASW
missiles. Its designs include the Vyuga, Veter, and Vodopad
533mm and 650mm torpedo tube-launched solid-fuel missiles, whose payload
consisted of either a lightweight homing torpedo or a nuclear charge. These
missiles entered service in 1969, 1984, and 1981, respectively, and were
carried by several types of Russian submarines.[6] Expanding its area of
expertise into cruise missiles, in the 1970s OKB-8 designed the 3M10/RK-55 Granat
[NATO designation SS-N-21 'Sampson'] SLCM,
the first Soviet turbojet-powered cruise missile capable of underwater launch.
This subsonic land-attack missile with a range of 3,000km was officially
accepted into service in April 1984. Capable of being launched from standard
533mm torpedo tubes, it was produced only in a nuclear variant.[7]
Novator's financial situation worsened considerably in the 1990s as a result of the loss of state orders
after the break-up of the Soviet Union. In an attempt to cope with the
worsening economic situation,
Novator's former general
director, Valentin
Smirnov, who was one of the main designers of the S-300V missiles, started
developing conversion programs in the early 1990s. One of them was PKB Novator,
an organization which engaged in extracting gold from electronic components of
dismantled weapon systems. However, the ensuing conflict over profits between
Smirnov and PKB Novator
leadership led to Smirnov's death at the hands of a contract killer hired by PKB Novator's
director.[8] The Russian government's inability to pay for even the sharply
reduced military orders put OKB Novator
in dire financial straits in the late 1990s. In 1998 the Sverdlovsk
Oblast branch of the Federal Tax Police froze the assets of OKB Novator
for non-payment of taxes. Novator General Director Pavel Kamnev
protested this action. In 1997 alone the federal debt to OKB Novator
was 34 million rubles, and in 1998 the government did not provide any funds at
all.[9] In June 1998 Pavel Kamnev
was one of the 50 directors of Russian defense plants who signed a letter to
the Russian government protesting the delays in paying for state orders that have
brought their enterprises to a state of virtual bankruptcy. Interest
compounded on debts incurred by enterprises that do not receive timely payments from
the federal government further diminishes their profits, and reduces their
ability to provide social services for their employees, leading to a further
loss of highly qualified cadres.[10]
At times even the continued existence of the bureau was reported to be in doubt. Sverdlovsk
Oblast Governor Eduard Rossel
claims to have saved OKB Novator
from closing or merging with another design bureau in the mid-1990s. Rossel also resisted attempts to privatize the design bureau.[11] Nevertheless,
the ongoing process of consolidation within the Russian defense industry may
eventually affect Novator.
In 2001 plans were announced to incorporate OKB Novator
into the planned Kontsern PVO,
an agglomeration of defense enterprises specializing in the design and manufacture
of air defense systems, which would include NPO Almaz
and NPO Antey.[12]
Novator's financial situation improved somewhat in the mid-1990s when
Governor Rossel
reached an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Defense to
finance the activities of defense enterprises located in the oblast, including OKB Novator,
by transferring revenues collected on the territory of the oblast directly to
the enterprises, rather than sending them to Moscow first. This arrangement
was agreed to by the Ministries of Finance and Defense. In 1998 this agreement
was annulled by the Ministry of Finance, but in 1999 First Deputy Prime
Minister Yuriy Maslyukov
signed an agreement on resuming the practice. The oblast government also sought to
involve local banks in financing the activities of OKB Novator.[13]
The bureau's financial situation appears to have improved slightly in the late
1990s. In December 1999 Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov
announced that OKB Novator
would be able to hire additional workers and resume a three-shift work
schedule to produce missiles for the S-300V air defense systems, and that the
government would pay its defense order debts by May 2000.[14] In spite of some
improvement, the situation remains difficult for the design bureau. OKB Novator
has suffered from the aging of its cadres and inability to attract replacements. In 1999, the average age of OKB's
designers was 55 years. Although 30 new engineers came to work for the bureau
in 1999, they agreed to work there in order to avoid military service. Pay in the bureau is low, and averages only 1000
rubles (approximately $36) a month.[15]
Sources: [1] "Gubernator vruchil gosudarstvennyye nagrady mashinostroitelyam," Press
Release, Sverdlovsk Oblast Governor's Press Service, 10-12 November 1997. [2] Viktor Smirnov, "Sozdatelya S-300 ubil tenevoy biznes," Kommersant-Daily,
14 October 1999; in East View Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [3] "E. Rossel prinyal uchastiye v otkrytii memorialnoy doski glavnomu
konstruktoru OKB 'Novator' Lvu Lyulyevu," PR.uralonline Web Site, http://www.pr.uralonline.ru/,
24 March 2000. [4] Sergey Petukhov, Igor Shestov, Rostislav Angelskiy, "Zenitnyye raketnyye
kompleksy protivovozdushnoy oborony sukhoputnykh voysk," Tekhnika i
vooruzheniye, May-June 1999, pp. 4-14. [5] "Sistema PRO A-135," Vestnik PVO Web Site, http://www.pvo.ru/, 28 May
2001. [6] Aleksandr Shirokorad, "Sub Takes Aim at Sub," Nezavisimoye voyennoye
obozreniye, 31 July-6 August 1998, p. 6; in "US Disinformation about ASW
Missile: US-RF Sub-to-Missile D [sic]," FBIS Document FTS19980825000900. [7] Valentin Sobakin, "Testing of a Missile System With the 3M10 Long-Range
Cruise Missile," Tayfun, 1 March 2001, pp. 7-9; in "Russia: History of
3M10 Cruise Missile Flight Testing," FBIS Document CEP20010828000287.
[8] Viktor Smirnov, "Arestovan ubiytsa izvestnogo konstruktora," Agentstvo
federalnykh issledovaniy Web Site,
http://www.flb.ru/, 12 April 1996. [9] Vitaliy Potapov, "Ugodil 'Novator' pod nalogovyy press," Trud, 9
February 1998; in Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [10] Aleksey Vladykin, "'Oboronka'-shag iz kruga," Rossiyskaya gazeta, 6
June 1998; in Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [11] "Uralskiy parad," Ogonek online edition, http://www.ropnet.ru/ogonyok/,
26 July 1999. [12] Ivan Safronov, "Klebanov sdelayet zakhod k prezidentu," Kommersant-daily,
29 August 2001; in Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [13] G. Radchenko, "Sverdlovskiy gubernator ratuyet za interesy 'oboronki',"
Ekonomika i zhizn, 10 April 1999; in Universal Database of Central Russian
Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [14] Nadezhda Potapova, "Russia company taken on workers to make air-defence
systems," ITAR-TASS Weekly News, 10 December 1999, in Universal
Database of Central
Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [15] Andrey Kalachev, "Yest silenka u oboronki," Rossiyskaya gazeta, 18
June 1999, in Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers,
http://online.eastview.com/. {Entered 4/22/02 MJ} ACTIVITIES: OKB Novator
continues work on designing new missile systems. Its latest products
include the 9M82M and 9M83M surface-to-air missiles for the Antey-2500
long-range air defense system derived from the S-300V and designed by NPO Antey.
The system is reportedly capable of engaging aircraft at ranges of up to 200km
and ballistic missiles with velocities up to 4.5km/sec and ranges of up to
2,500km.[1]
Drawing on its experience in designing submarine-launched cruise missiles, OKB Novator
has designed a family of multi-role missiles usually referred to as the Kalibr
(version developed for the Russian Navy) or Club
(export version). For more information on the system please see the
Russia: Overview of Missiles
Exported by Russia section. The Club/Kalibr
system has not yet entered Russian Navy service. However, during his visit to
Yekaterinburg in March 2000, then-Defense Minister Sergeyev
said that the Ministry of Defense would finance the development of a new
multi-role missile system which included a strategic land-attack missile,
which most likely was a reference to Novator's
missiles.[2] Sources: [1] Vladimir Denovoy, "'Antey-2500' - novoye slovo rossiyskikh oboronshchikov,"
Krasnaya zvezda, 28 May 1998; in Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/. [2] "Oruzhiye flota obnovitsya," Nezavisimoye voyennoye obozreniye
online edition, http://nvo.ng.ru/, 24 March 2000; in Universal
Database of Military &
Security Periodicals, http://online.eastview.com/.
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
NOVATOR DEVELOPMENTS:
9/3/2001: INDIA RECEIVES CLUB-ARMED SUBMARINE Novyye izvestiya reported that on 3 September 2001
Admiralteyskiye verfi shipyard turned over to the Indian Navy its first Project 877-EKM [NATO
name 'Kilo'] diesel-electric submarine modernized by the addition of the
Club missile system. The
second similarly modernized submarine was to be ready for transfer in late
September or early October 2001. Similar modernization work is also being
conducted in Severodvinsk shipyards. India has purchased a total of 10
Kilo-class submarines from Russia. The last ship to be delivered, INS
Sindhushastra, received the Club system as part of its original weapons
fit (see the
11/18/2000 entry in the Missile Exports to India file). [Aleksey Tikhonov, "Indiya uydet ot nas s 'Mechom'," Novyye izvestiya,
26 September 2001, p. 4;
in East View Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers,
http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
8/29/2001: NOVATOR MAY BECOME PART OF AIR DEFENSE CONCERN Kommersant-daily reported on 29 August 2001 that the Russian Control
Systems Agency (RCSA) included the Novator Design Bureau in the list of
enterprises to be included in the Kontsern PVO enterprise ordered created by
President Putin. The new enterprise would unite Russia's leading air defense
system design bureaus and manufacturers. However, RCSA reportedly included Novator in the proposed merger without coordinating this move with the Russian
Aerospace Agency, to which Novator is subordinate, and whose assent would be
needed. [Ivan Safronov, "Klebanov sdelayet zakhod k prezidentu," Kommersant-daily,
29 August 2001, p. 2;
in East View Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers Database,
http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
8/1/2001: NOVATOR, ROSOBORONEKSPORT SIGN AGREEMENT Representatives of Novator Design Bureau and
the state arms export firm Rosoboroneksport signed an agreement on 1 August 2001
on marketing Novator's products
on foreign markets. The agreement was signed during Rosoboroneksport
General Director Andrey Belyaninov's working visit to
Sverdlovsk Oblast. At a
meeting organized by Oblast Governor Eduard Rossel, representatives of Sverdlovsk's defense enterprises expressed dissatisfaction with Rosoboroneksport's activities, particularly the amount of time required to
issue licenses and permits. Rossel asked Rosoboroneksport to give its
Yekaterinburg branch and local defense enterprises greater independence. [Viktor Smirnov, "Ural nedovolen rabotoy 'Rosoboroneksporta',"
Kommersant-daily, 2 August 2001; in East View Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
11/18/2000: FIRST CRUISE MISSILE-ARMED INDIAN SUBMARINE ARRIVES IN INDIA'S
WATERS For more information please see the
11/18/2000 entry in the
Missile Exports to India file. {Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
8/9/2000: CHINA NEGOTIATING PURCHASE OF 3M54E Jane's Defence Weekly reported on 9 August 2000 that
the People's
Republic of China is interested in purchasing a variant of the 3M54E anti-ship
missile (part of the
Club missile
family). OKB Novator reportedly supplied technical information on the
system to China at the request of the state arms export firm Rosvooruzheniye.
The Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering, which designed the
Kilo-class submarines, informed
Jane's Defence Weekly that it has been
promoting the idea of upgrading two submarines already supplied to China with
the Club system. [Yihong Zhang, "China negotiates to buy advanced Russian anti-ship missile,"
Jane's Defence Weekly, 9 August 2000; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe,
http://www.lexis-nexis.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
3/24/2000: SERGEYEV PROMISES FINANCING FOR NEW SLCM According to the 24 March 2000 issue of the Nezavisimoye voyennoye
obozreniye, during a visit to Yekaterinburg Russian Defense Minister
Marshal Igor Sergeyev
announced that the Ministry of Defense will finance the development of a new
multi-role missile system incorporating a strategic cruise missile for the
Russian Navy. Since OKB Novator is the only cruise
missile design facility in Yekaterinburg, Sergeyev was most likely referring
to a Novator design. ["Oruzhiya flota obnovitsya," Nezavisimoye voyennoye obozreniye online
edition,
http://nvo.ng.ru/printed/armament/200-03-24/ 6_vpk_news.html, 24 March
2000.] {Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
12/10/99: NOVATOR TO INCREASE
WORKFORCE Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov
announced on 10 December 1999 that Novator
would be able to increase its workforce and resume a three-shift schedule due
to production requirements for missiles for the S-300V air defense system. Klebanov
also promised that the Russian government would pay all of its defense order
debts by May 2000 and double its defense orders in 2000. [Nadezhda Potapova, "Russia company taken on workers to make air-defence
systems," ITAR-TASS Weekly News, 10 December 1999, in East View Universal
Database of Central
Russian Newspapers,
http://online.eastview.com/.] {Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
12/10/99: INDIAN
FRIGATES AND SUBMARINES TO RECEIVE RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILES For more information please see the
12/10/99
entry in the Missile Exports to India file. {Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
11/15/99: 3M54E MISSILE TO
BE DISPLAYED IN MALAYSIA ITAR-TASS
reported on 15 November 1999 that Novator
Design Bureau planned to display its 3M54E anti-ship missile at the LIMA-99
defense exhibition in Malaysia. The exhibition will be held between 30
November and 5 December 1999. [ITAR-TASS Weekly News, 15 November 1999; in East View
Universal Database of Central Russian
Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
10/14/99: SMIRNOV'S
KILLERS CONVICTED Kommersant-daily reported on 14 October 1999 that the Sverdlovsk Oblast court
found Yuriy Pindzhenin, a former business associate of Novator General Director Valentin Smirnov, guilty of
ordering the
assassination of Novator's general director
and sentenced him to 15 years of imprisonment. Five of Pindzhenin's
accomplices were sentenced as well. [Viktor Smirnov, "Sozdatelya S-300 ubil tenevoy biznes," Kommersant-Daily,
14 October 1999; in East View Universal Database of Central Russian
Newspapers,
http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
9/10/99: 3M54E MISSILE CLEARED FOR EXPORT ITAR-TASS reported on 10 September 1999 that the 3M54E anti-ship cruise
missile, belonging to Novator's
Club missile system, received its export clearance. The first ships to
receive these missiles will be the three Project 1135.6 frigates under
construction for India. [ITAR-TASS, 10 September 1999; in "Russian High-Tech Missile System Cleared
for Export," FBIS Document FTS19990910001489.]{Entered
4/22/02 MJ}
9/2/98: NOVATOR PROPERTY
IMPOUNDED FOR NON-PAYMENT OF TAXES Trud
reported on 2 September 1999 that the Sverdlovsk
directorate of the Federal Tax Police impounded property belonging to the Novator
Design Bureau. This move was reportedly caused by Novator's
failure to pay federal taxes.
Novator General Director Pavel Kamnev
protested this action by pointing out that Novator,
as a state enterprise, is exempt from paying penalties for late payment of
taxes, and that in any event its indebtedness was caused by the Ministry of
Defense's failure to pay what it owes Novator
for past orders. In 1998 alone the MOD placed orders worth 38 million rubles
with Novator
without paying for them. [Vitaliy Potapov,
"Ugodil 'Novator' pod nalogovyy press," Trud, 2 September 1998;
in East View Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers,
http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
6/6/98: NOVATOR DIRECTOR REQUESTS PAYMENT OF DEFENSE DEBTS Rossiyskaya gazeta reported on 6 June 1998 that a group of directors of
defense enterprises based in the Urals, including the Novator Design Bureau
General Director Pavel Kamnev, traveled to Moscow to find out when the Russian
government will pay for already fulfilled Ministry of Defense (MOD) orders. MOD
debts to enterprises in Sverdlovsk Oblast
have reached 680 million rubles.
As a result the enterprises have been unable to pay their workers' salaries
for as many as five months at a time, suffered losses of utility services, and
experienced other difficulties. [Aleksey Vladykin, "'Oboronka' - shag iz kruga," Rossiyskaya gazeta, 6
June 1998; in East View Universal
Database of Central Russian Newspapers, http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
5/18/98: NEW AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM USES NOVATOR MISSILES Krasnaya zvezda reported on 28 May
1998 that Antey, one of the leading Russian air defense system design bureaus,
unveiled a new long-range air defense system based on the Soviet-era S-300V,
designated Antey-2500. The system incorporates 9M82M and 9M83M missiles with ranges of
up to 200km designed at the Novator Design Bureau. [Vladimir Dernovoy, "'Antey-2500' - novoye slovo rossiyskikh oboronshchikov,"
Krasnaya zvezda, 28 May 1998;
in East View Universal Database of Military & Security Periodicals,
http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
9/10/96: NOVATOR PROPERTY IMPOUNDED Izvestiya reported on 10
September 1996 that Novator Design Bureau became one of 400 Sverdlovsk Oblast
enterprises whose property was partially impounded to pay off
debts. In Novator's case the debt is caused mainly by the Russian
government's inability to finance its defense orders. [Aleksandr Pashkov, "U 400 predpriyatiy Sverdlovskoy oblasti
arestovano imushchestvo," Izvestiya, 10 September 1996; in East View
Universal Database of Central Russian Newspapers,
http://online.eastview.com/.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
3/20/96: NOVATOR GENERAL DESIGNER ASSASSINATED On 20 March 1996 Novator Design Bureau General Designer Valentin
Smirnov was assassinated in his apartment building in Yekaterinburg by a
contract killer using a silenced pistol. Local law enforcement organs
identified the main suspect as Yuriy Pindzhenin, the director of Novator Production-Commercial
Bureau which was engaged in the sale of precious metals from electronics of missiles
withdrawn from service. The bureau was created by Smirnov as a
defense conversion enterprise in order to raise revenue for the Novator Design
Bureau. However, Pindzhenin defrauded the enterprise, stealing up to 50kg of
gold, and allegedly ordered Smirnov killed when the latter discovered the
violations. [Viktor Smirnov,
"Arestovan ubiytsa izvestnogo konstruktora," Agentstvo
federalnykh issledovaniy Web Site, http://www.flb.ru/, 12 April 1996.]
{Entered 4/22/02 MJ}
Last updated 19 July 2002
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS CNS: Cristina.ChuenATmiis.edu
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