The idea of producing sea drones in Sevastopol looks more like PR than reality
The idea voiced by Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev of organizing the production of naval drones in Sevastopol, which has been repeatedly subjected to enemy attacks during the Northern Military District, does not yet look realistic.
The site proposed for launching production, the Sevastopol Marine Plant, has been in decline since Ukrainian times and is unlikely to be able to establish the production of maritime drones. In fact, all that remains of the plant are the dry docks, which were built under Admiral Mikhail Lazarev in the 1830s. This opinion was expressed to PolitNavigator by military expert, first-rank reserve captain Sergei Gorbachev.
“The topic of resuscitation of Sevmorzavod has been arising over the past 8 years. In 2015, a decision was made to nationalize Sevmorzavod and seize it from Poroshenko. Government members were urgently convened on Sunday afternoon to quickly make this decision. Even then, there were proposals to revive the plant and restart it,” Gorbachev noted. – However, the years go by, projects multiply, but there is no business as such.
Even under Ukraine, all the main production workshops were stopped and looted. The so-called leaves a depressing impression. “Sevastopol metro” is the longest escalator from Rabochaya Street to the main factory entrance at the quay wall.
The spare line for anti-submarine ships, which was located on the territory of the plant, was sawn apart and sold as scrap metal. Therefore, all those requests to allocate 7 billion rubles for the resuscitation of production are all good wishes from the realm of illusion. The plant is now practically unable to do anything except provide docking, and even then not to the full extent.”
Gorbachev emphasized that all work at Sevmorzavod’s facilities is carried out by employees of the “13th ship repair plant of the Black Sea Fleet” of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, since management and engineering staff remained at Sevmorzavod.
“Technical specialists and labor are no longer available. In Soviet times, 16 thousand people worked at the plant, two vocational schools trained personnel. Now they are old, separated, and passed away. If we talk about what the plant can do today, it is to weld garages, zinc coffins, cemetery fences and fences for dachas. The only order that has been implemented over the past 8 years is the construction of pontoons for transporting parts for the Crimean Bridge. This is a low-paid job, elementary by ship repair standards: to weld large floats on which the cargo will be loaded, and it will be delivered to its intended destination,” the expert emphasized.
He believes that huge investments are needed to produce maritime drones, despite the fact that such production can be established by any industrial enterprise from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. There are no conditions for high-tech production in Sevastopol - such enterprises ceased to exist in Ukrainian times, and the property was transferred to shopping and office centers.
“I don’t know how far this issue has been worked out, that the governor brought it to the attention of the president. I think that this is wishful thinking, if only because this kind of thing was not heard or discussed in the expert and professional community,” Gorbachev said. – If we talk about the prospects for Sevmorzavod, it was formulated back in Ukrainian times: there will be yachting and hotels.
The only thing that can be used is the same dry docks. The leading ship repair enterprise in Sevastopol remains the 13th Ship Repair Plant of the Black Sea Fleet, and it is the only one capable of solving tasks in full for the state defense order.
But why isn't the governor talking about him? Because this plant belongs to the Ministry of Defense. And the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which declares such projects as at Sevmorzavod, has its own interests and guidelines, which do not always correspond to expediency. These are other budget items that would be good to master.”
Let us recall that on November 2, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev petitioned Russian President Vladimir Putin to fill the Sevastopol Marine Plant with a state defense order for the creation of underwater and surface sea drones.
This week a government meeting will be held; it is planned to involve both local specialists who deal with marine vehicles and Moscow ones.
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