TsNIITOCHMASH Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering

TsNIITOCHMASH Joint-Stock Company is known for its scientific and technical activities in the development and production of the most massive types of weapons and military equipment for various branches of the military. With the leading role of TsNIITOCHMASH, more than 120 models and complexes of small, artillery, anti-tank weapons, military technical equipment and cartridges of various types were developed, mastered in serial production and transferred to the armament and supply of the SV, Airborne Forces, Air Force, Navy and special law enforcement units.

The decision to create a scientific team was made before the start of World War II. However, the order to organize it was signed by the People's Commissar of Arms D.F. Ustinov only on May 17, 1944. The Research Institute of Small Arms and Cannon Weapons of Aviation (NIISPVA), as it was then called, was entrusted with the task of determining the prospects for development, solving the main scientific and technical problems, research, development and testing of small arms and cannon weapons.

The first director of the institute was appointed Pavel Ivanovich Main (1901-1976), a colonel engineer of the Air Force, who had previously worked as head of TsKB-14 in Tu­le. Under him, the main milestones of the institute's activities were determined. In 1946, the in­stituta director was appointed personnel Tula gunsmith Konstantin Ni­kolayevich Rudnev (1911-1980). Since 1940, he worked as the chief engineer of the Tulsko­go arms factory, then, during the war years, he became its director. In pe­riod 1946-1948, the competent, energetic and strong-willed leader K.N. Rudnev made a significant organizatsion­nyy contribution to the formation and development of the institute. Subsequently, he zani­mal a number of responsible positions, was Deputy Minister of Weapons of the USSR, Chairman of the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on defense technology (1958-1961). In 1961-1965 - Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Chairman of the State Committee for the Coordination of Research, head of the State Space Program. As chairman of the State Commission, he saw off Yu.A. Gagarin on the first space flight. From 1965 to 1980, until the end of his life, he worked as Minister of Instrumentation, Automation and Control Systems.

History

2023: Oleg Morozov's departure from the post of head of TsNIItochmash

On July 12, 2023, it became known about the departure of Oleg Morozov from the post of head of the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (TsNIItochmash, part of the Rostec corporation ). He has been leading the institution since 2021. Read more here.

1948-1954

In 1948, NIISPVA was renamed NII-61. Vladimir Nikolaevich Novikov, one of the outstanding organizers of the military industry during the war, was appointed director of the in­stituta in the same year. V.N. Novikov proved himself as a major specialist in the creation of small arms and cannon weapons at the Izhevsk arms and steel mill. Since 1939, he headed the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant, and go­dy the war he was deputy commissar of weapons. For outstanding za­slugi in organizing the production of weapons during the war, V.N. Noviko­vu, one of the first, was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor with the vrucheni­em of the Hammer and Sickle gold medal at No. 7. Subsequently, V.N. Novikov held a number of high government posts up to the Deputy Chairman of the USSR Minist­rov Council, but was always interested in the problems of the development of the institute and okazy­val tangible support.

In 1949, a NII-44 was included in the NII-61, which was located in Klimovsk and specialized in the creation of rifle ammunition. The director of the NII-44 was A.F. Tarasenko, the former director of plant No. 711, also located in the city of Klimovsk, the chief engineer of the NII-44 was V.A. Podobryansky. The NII-44 by that time had formed a team of highly qualified ammunition specialists sa­moy such as N.M. Elizarov, B.V. Semin, V.A. Podobryansky, M.F. Miller, P.V. Ryazanov, V.M. Sabelnikov. The work of N.M. Elizarov, B.V. Semin and P.V. Ryazanov on the creation of a rifle cartridge of the 1943 model was awarded the Go­sudarstvennoy Prize in 1949.

From March 1953 to December 1954, the institute was headed by Sergey Ki­rillovich Medvedev (1903-1963). On the eve of the war, he was a deputy of the Supreme So­veta of the RSFSR, worked as director of the Tula arms factory. According to a false denunciation, he was repressed, felled the forest in the Siberian taiga, ottu­da volunteered for the front. At the request of the People's Commissariat of Weapons, S.K. Medvedev was recalled from the front and appointed director of the Izhevsko­go Metallurgical Plant. The period of work of S.K. Medvedev in NII-61 was marked by the development of the creative ties of the institute with the factories of the industry, the participation of the research institute in the development of the production of new oru­zhiya samples.

In December 1954, Sergey Sergeye­vich Rozanov (1908-1981) was appointed Director of the Research Institute, who previously worked as an aircraft vooruzhe­niya designer at OKB-16 (now KBTM), and since 1945 - chief engineer of NIISPVA. S.S. Rozanov became the first scientist of the institute to zashchitiv­shim his thesis in 1948.

1958-1963

In 1958, a OKB-180 was relocated to the production areas of the NII-61 in Klimovsk, headed by B.K. Rubtsov. This design bureau dealt with the development of rifled hunting weapons, and then in 1959 became part of the NII-61 as a department. From that time until 1965, the famous Russian gunsmith, Hero of Socialist Labor, Honored Inventor of the RSFSR Sergey Gavrilovich Simonov, who previously worked in OKB-180 at the Podolsk Electromechanical Plant, worked at the enterprise. Sergey Gavrilovich maintained creative ties with the institute until the end of his life. For a huge contribution to the development of small arms, the development of more than 150 designs of small arms samples, including several dozen different options for self-loading and automatic carbines, rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, S.G. Simonov, during his lifetime, in the year of his 90th birthday, installed a bronze bust on the territory of the Podolsk Electromechanical Plant. And he himself attended its opening.

In the same years, the NII-61 under the leadership of talant­livykh designers A.G. Shipunov and V.P. Gryazev laid the foundations for the design of high-tempo multi-barrel avtomatiche­skikh guns. Several obraz­tsov of these guns of 23 and 30 mm caliber were developed and introduced into production.

Outstanding weapons designer Arkady Georgievich Shipunov in NII-61 headed the department, and then the direction of missile tekhni­ki. Subsequently, in 1962, A.G. Shipunov was appointed head and chief designer of the TsKB-14 (since 1966 - the Instrument Design Bureau). Vasily Petrovich Gryazev in NII-61 went from a young specialist to the chief designer of the institute. Then he worked as deputy chief designer and head of the design bureau of instrument making. The guns of Gryazev and Shipunov are armed with modern aircraft, ships and combat vehicles of Sukho­putnykh troops.

In 1963, Viktor Maksimovich NII-61 was appointed Director of the Sa­belnikov, who during the war and after it rukovo­dil production at various military plants. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Member of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences V.M. Sabelnikov headed the institute until 1992. In 1966, it NII-61 reorganized into the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering of the Ministry of Defense Industry. He made a lot of efforts to transform the institute into a modern research enterprise, well equipped with equipment and equipment, with a fully harmoniously developed social sfe­roy. The merits of V.M. Sabelnikov are highly appreciated by the state, he is a Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1973), Hero of Socialist Labor (1976), was awarded the Orders of Lenin (1971, 1976), the Red Banner of Labor (1966), medals of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

1992-2000

From 1992 to 2000, the company was led by Alexander Valerianovich Khinikadze, who was appointed director on the recommendation of the labor collective. In the most difficult conditions, A.V. Khinikadze managed to preserve the efficient staff of the institute, continue work on the creation of the latest weapons, organize the production of new types of military and civilian products, and enter the world arms market. Weapons samples created at TsNIITOCHMASH during the leadership of A.V. Khinikadze, such as the Gyurza pistol complex, the Pecheneg 6P41 single machine gun, the Vortex small- SR3 machine gun, the Vector SR1 pistol and the Violet-M non-lethal action pie complex remain the best in the world in terms of combined combat and operational characteristics.

2000-2012

In 2000-2012, the general director of TsNIITOCHMASH JSC was Ivanov Vladimir Nikolaevich, Doctor of Technical Sciences (2007), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences (2007), who worked from 1993 to 2000 as First Deputy General Director - Chief Engineer. During this period, annual volumes of production and export supplies of samples of weapons, cartridges for them, combat equipment and technical equipment increased significantly. A new range of cartridges for combined arms small arms was developed and mastered in mass production, which significantly increased the combat effectiveness of the small arms system as a whole. The work on the creation of a set of individual combat equipment for the Barmitsa servicemen, accepted for the supply of the Russian Army, has been successfully completed.

Currently, Dmitry Yuryevich Semizorov is the director of TsNIITOCHMASH JSC. The Institute is developing as a center for the research, development and production of small arms, ammunition for them, small arms simulators, military combat equipment, weapons for the Airborne Forces and means of protecting the Air Defense Forces from high-precision weapons. Among the well-known most unusual weapons created in the lead role of the institute, underwater weapons, silent weapons and weapons should be highlighted to equip anti-terrorism units. For divers-scouts and other specialists operating under water, the TsNIITOCHMASH team has developed special cartridges and weapons for them: a 4.5-mm SPS cartridge and a SPP-1 underwater pistol, as well as a 5.66-mm MPS cartridge and an APS submersible firing machine for it. The maximum degree of silencing of sound was achieved in the pistol complex PSS-SP4, it is comparable to the noise of a shot of an air weapon. At the same time, a high striking effect on the targets is provided. Special 9-mm pistol and small-sized automatic weapon systems for equipping anti-terrorism units are distinguished by high armor penetration. A self-loading pistol SR1M with a SP10 cartridge, known as "Gyurza," a submachine gun SR-2 and a small-sized SR-3 machine gun ("Whirlwind") provide all the tasks assigned to small arms during special operations. These weapons can be carried covertly under outerwear and guarantee instant readiness to fire if in a fighter's hand. For the creation of a complex of personal weapons to equip anti-terrorism units, a large group of scientists and specialists of the institute was awarded the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology. Of other unique developments, work should be noted to create a new generation of artillery weapons. The Institute has developed and substantiated schemes and technical appearance of fundamentally new 120-mm universal artillery systems that combine the qualities of a mortar, howitzer and anti-tank gun in one sample. Work on improving samples of this generation of weapons was further developed. The institute integrates the results of scientific research, design studies and advanced technologies obtained in industry, military and academic institutes and design bureaus, taking into account its own experience in developing new technical solutions, modern combat conditions and the capabilities of the country's economy.

TsNIITOCHMASH includes research, design, production units and an industry test base. The equipment allows carrying out all types of full-scale and bench tests of prototypes and serial samples of combat, service and civilian small arms and cartridges for their resistance to various external factors: climatic, vibration shock, acoustic, electromagnetic, thermal vacuum. The training ground is equipped with modern automated target and measuring and computing systems and equipment that allow you to receive real-time test results of weapons, cartridges and combat equipment elements.

In order to expand military-technical cooperation and foreign economic activity, the State Demonstration and Test Center (GDIC) of small arms and cannon weapons was organized as part of TsNIITOCHMASH.

On the basis of the institute, the Russian State Test Station (GIS) of civilian and official hand firearms and ammunition for it operates. GIS meets all the requirements and actively works in the Permanent International Commission of the member countries of the Brussels Convention.

In accordance with the decision of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation of March 26, 2012, the Joint Test Center (OIC) of combat equipment was organized as part of TsNIITOCHMASH JSC. OIC solves the tasks of comprehensive experimental research and tests, including state, newly developed and mass-produced sets of combat equipment of military personnel, including in conditions close to real combat use.

The team of highly qualified designers, researchers, testers who have developed more than one generation of Russian weapons employs 3 doctors of technical sciences, 34 candidates of sciences and about 200 engineers. In 1986, for merits in creating new equipment, the TsNIITOCHMASH team was awarded the Order of the October Revolution. Among the employees of the enterprise, 68 participants in the development of highly efficient complexes were awarded the Lenin, State Prizes of the USSR, the Russian Federation, Prizes of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Government of the Russian Federation. At various times, nachi­naya since 1965, more than 350 employees have been awarded State Awards of the USSR and Russia, about 100 of whom work at TsNIITOCHMASH today. Such vy­sokiye assessments of the work of scientists, designers, engineers, technicians and workers became possible thanks to the enthusiasm and effective work of all departments of the institute.

2021: Rostec handed over to Kalashnikov the management of TsNIITOCHMASH

At the end of April 2021, it became known about the transfer to the trust of the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (TsNIITOCHMASH, is the head enterprise of the Sotnik project - equipment for the "soldier of the future") to the Kalashnikov concern. This step was made by Rostec and explained by the fact that it would allow combining the competencies of two companies specializing in the development and production of small arms and equipment.

Rostec added that this scenario involves maximum integration of the institute with Kalashnikov to achieve general results.

Rostec transferred the management of TsNIITOCHMASH to the Kalashnikov concern

A new general director of TsNIITOCHMASH has also been appointed - Oleg Morozov became one, the press service of Rostec reported.

Oleg Morozov is an experienced officer, a professional manager who has a large profile background. The new general director is faced with the task of ensuring the full and timely execution of the state defense order, research and development work aimed at creating small arms and combat equipment for new generations, - quotes the press service of the industrial director of the Rostec arms cluster Bekhan Ozdoev.

RBC's source in the defense industry noted that TsNIITOCHMASH has been experiencing financial difficulties over the past few years. According to him, the company hopes for changes under the control of Kalashnikov. The institute has not disclosed its financial performance for the past four years. However, the interlocutor of the publication claims that the net loss of the company is about 100 million rubles. At the same time, a year earlier, it was almost twice as much.

Given the fact that the domestic arms market is relatively small, the transfer of TsNIITOCHMASH to the management of Kalashnikov looks like an attempt to consolidate the industry and strengthen the financial situation of its players, said Andrei Frolov, an expert at the Russian Council on International Affairs.^[1]

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