Article Posted on : - Aug 26, 2009

A file photo

NOVO-OGARYOVO (BNS): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has asked the country’s Federal Space Agency to expedite the reform process of Russian aerospace industry.

“The Federal Space Agency is drastically reforming the aerospace sector, but the reform is too slow. I would like to know why that is so,” Putin said in his address at the Novo-Ogaryovo conference on Tuesday.

“I order the Federal Property Agency and the Federal Space Agency to ensure the absolute implementation of earlier decisions. The Military Industrial Commission will strictly control the formation of integrated aerospace entities,” he was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.

He said only four integrated entities in the aerospace industry had been formed and started functioning while the formation of other entities was slow.

“The integrated entities will later unite into several holdings with a considerable degree of economic freedom,” the Prime Minister said, adding, “The holdings will creditably represent Russia on the world market.”

There are a total of 100 research and production units presently operating in the Russian aerospace industry. Over half of them are federal unitary and state-owned organizations, the Russian news agency reported.

Quoting a source at the government press office, the report said that plans are on add seven large integrated entities in the aerospace sector by 2013. The new units would be further expanded by 2016. There will be a large research centre, a corporation producing automatic satellites of various purposes and so on.

“After 2016, the aerospace industry will be made up of six large self-sufficient corporations competitive on the world market,” the source told Itar-Tass.