Voyentekh

Shortly after creating Rosvooruzheniye, the government approved direct arms sales activities by weapons manufacturers, further complicating the effort to monitor sales. Another state agency, the State Armament and Military Equipment Sales Company (Voyentekh), was established in 1992 to sell used equipment and arms overseas, with the proceeds to finance housing for troops.

According to frequent allegations, the program was riddled with corruption, most of its profits did not reached the housing fund, and much equipment had gone to the criminal world. The idea was for Voyentekh to export excess equipment and armaments from the inventory ofthe Ministry of Defense and use the money to build housing for servicemen. Essentially, this was to be a surplus sales organization, and the military was free to determine which items were to be declared surplus. However, some of the items sold apparently were not truly excess equipment, and the funds received were manipulated so that a significant amount of the proceeds did more to enrich members of the military's leadership than it helped to solve Russia's military housing shortage.

The idea was for Voyentekh to "export equipment and armaments at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense" and use the money to build housing for servicemen. Rather than selling newly manufactured weaponry like Rosvooruzhenive. Voventekh's "more modest" role haf been to sell surplus materiel from MoD organizations like the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate (Glavnove Raketno-Artilleriyskove Upravlenive—GRAU) and the Main Armor-Tank Directorate (Glavnove Bronetankovove Upravlenive - GBTU). Other participants in this aspect of arms sales are the General Staff, which determines the kinds of equipment that are excess and available for sale, and various commercial companies and joint ventures which may be used to facilitate transactions.

Some 97 percent of the proceeds from this continuing arms sale program were to go to the military housing fund. However, these programs have been the target of continuing allegations of corruption. Charges concern the personal enrichment of active and former officers involved in the sales. Questions about the underfunded and substandard military housing effort also abound. In addition, it has been equipment already in military inventories that has found its way into the hands of criminals, parties to ethno-national conflict, irregular armed groups, and virtually any other kind of customer with an ability to pay. It has been reported that some ofthe actions taken by military representatives to transfer arms to Chechen forces may have been aimed at protecting Russian aircraft access to Groznyy airport, a suspected international drug-traffic transit point.

VOYENTEKH had its export license revoked and the company was disbanded as a result of the "improper" business dealings it was conducting. Subsequently an entirely unrelated entity was established with the same name. Research center focused on the development of complex software and hardware solutions, special software and functional microprocessor modules. This complanyhas Two production sites with state-of-the-art technological and testing equipment, ensuring the full life cycle of manufactured products. Work includes technology for dynamic monitoring and adjustment of the position in space of the components of land-based and surface-based fire weapons.