OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, paid a working visit to Uralvagonzavod. At the Ural Design Bureau for Transport Engineering, which is part of the corporation, he got acquainted with the special upcoming developments. He also met with young engineers and held a private meeting.

The UKBTM general director-chief engineer, Andrey Terlikov, presented the Russian President a modern technology on the Armata platform. He spoke about the capabilities of the heavy T-15 infantry combat vehicles and the T-14 tank, created by UVZ specialists, among whom were the young design engineers who attended the meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Responding to a question asked by a young designer, Alexander Ivko, about how he sees the future of the country, the President said that Russia should flourish, feel confident and be a sovereign nation. The nation needs "not only the defense industry, but also that the civilian population live better lives and, of course, what we need is the very kind of equipment that you make."

"The Armata project is approaching its final stage. The next stage is robotic machinery, considering how much it is in demand by the state today, "- said the designer Yevgeny Gayev. The head of state said that we should not stop there. "You always have to look beyond the horizon, because what is being done now, has already been done, and was already done yesterday," he said. In addition, the President said that such robotic systems will be useful in the future, not only in the military but also in civilian sectors.

The Russian leader highly appreciated the armored vehicles created by UVZ. "I looked at the tank, and I looked at it not for the first time, but now I see a new infantry combat vehicle made on this basis. This is probably the only one of its kind in the world," he said. Putin also noticed that the corporation’s products are in high demand worldwide.

After the meeting, Putin thanked all the participants, shook hands with the designers and said that it is very important when young specialists are engaged in teamwork. Later on, he held a meeting, during which the General Director of UVZ, Oleg Sienko, reported on the industrial, scientific and technological achievements of the corporation (which today comprises of about 40 design and engineering departments and research institutes) starting from 2009, and prospects for further development. Emphasis was placed on the work in the field of innovative railway products and custom vehicles and machinery. In addition, Oleg Sienko stressed about the great contribution from the parent company in the social sphere of Nizhny Tagil. Finally, various issues were discussed, including issues related to the domestic engineering industry.