In late June, ALAFF already wrote about ERA — the ambitious innovation project of the Ministry of Defense of Russia on the Black Sea coast. The abbreviation ERA reads as Elite of the Russian Army. Although the official opening was scheduled for September 2018, the technopolis, in fact, began its work in mid summer. At the moment, we can consider the initial stages of the work of the unique ERA technopolis, which were covered by the Russian TV/media.
The photos used are screenshots from two videos that are presented below, plus a few photos were taken from the official website of the MIT ERA.
July 18, 2018. It is reported about the first conscription in the ERA technopolis in Anapa. According to the head of the organizational-mobilization department of the headquarters of the Central Military District, Major General Alexander Linkov, the first 28 young servicemen of ‘urgent’ service are called to serve in ERA. These are draftees from the regions of the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia. In particular, conscripts from Orenburg and Tatarstan arrived in Anapa.
It is also reported that ERA is developing technical «vision» for transport, including railway, studying promising materials, including materials based on the principle of biotechnology, conducting experiments in the field of medicine, developing IT complexes, etc. Source.
August 23, 2018. According to Deputy Defense Minister, Alexei Krivoruchko, the [ERA] technopolis will begin its work in a few days. «ERA will soon open, it is about literally a few days. Many industrial enterprises will work there. We attracted a lot of young people there. This is a unique project, great prospects are guaranteed here, there will be several stages of development and the first stage will start in September«, — Krivoruchko said at the International Military-Technical Forum «Army-2018». Source.
Roman Kordyukov, Acting Head of the Main Directorate of Research Activities of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, reported: «Literally within a month, the Ministry of Defense received more than one hundred applications from enterprises that want to create joint laboratories on our site for carrying out various studies«. He clarified that before this, the Russian Ministry of Defense conducted a study trip to the ERA technopolis for representatives of the Russian industry to show what kind of platform is being created, what conditions will be there for creation, creativity and resting. Technopolis was visited by representatives of 27 organizations. Kordyukov added that this year the Defense Ministry decided on 8 directions; 18 laboratories were created that will work on military tasks. Also, a list of 42 companies that have determined their research directions has been compiled. Source.
August 26, 2018. Roman Kordyukov, Acting Head of the Main Directorate of Research Activities of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, reported that «The first [ERA] employees will begin moving to the technopolis site almost immediately after the end of the «Army-2018» forum, while a scientific developments are already underway«. Kordyukov noted that more than 15 representatives of enterprises, who are ready to start cooperation at the [ERA] technopolis site, addressed him personally at the «Army-2018» forum. Source.
September 1, 2018. A modern hospital was opened near Anapa city, primarily aimed at providing medical assistance to employees of the ERA military technopolis. It was reported by the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
On the area of 16 thousand m² there is a polyclinic, a hospital with 120 beds, a pharmacy, as well as an elevated three-story parking for 122 parking spaces. The hospital staff consists of qualified military doctors and nurses, and modern medical equipment allows for the provision of high-tech specialized medical care. Source.
September 3, 2018. It is reported that the Concern “Sozvezdie» of the “Roselectronica” Holding is ready for deployment of two special laboratories in the ERA technopolis. In these laboratories it is planned to develop a reconnaissance and observation complex of a mortar battery. It is also reported that in one of the laboratories the specialists will be engaged in the technology of reducing of the so-called radio-visibility. First of all, it is about the problem of radio-visibility of robotic systems.
Sergey Karamov, Head of the Laboratory of Breakthrough Technologies of the «Sozvezdie» Concern, who heads the Concern’s laboratories in the ERA technopolis, noted: «Laboratories today face challenges that are of a breakthrough nature and involve the creation of armament complexes that have no domestic, and possibly foreign, counterparts. Solving these issues will require close interaction with other thematic divisions of the [ERA] technopolis, which will only add synergistic effect to our general research and development«. Source.
September 12, 2018. It is reported that ERA technopolis of the Ministry of Defense of Russia has become the basic element of a new effective model of interaction between scientific, educational and industrial organizations. In joint laboratories deployed in technopolis, advanced research and development are carried out under the guidance of scientists and designers, in close cooperation with the operators of the scientific companies of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the military-industrial complex and industrial partners.
Currently, the main directions of scientific research of ERA’ employees are high-performance computing systems with a reconfigurable structure, mathematical, software and linguistic support of automated control systems, development, testing and certification of special software, as well as automation of management processes. One of the important goals of the ERA technopolis is the creation of a modern infrastructure for conducting large-scale scientific research in the field of artificial intelligence. Source.
September 26, 2018. It is reported that the Kurchatov Institute will open a laboratory of biosimilar robotics at ERA technopolis.
In particular, in the ERA technopolis, the laboratories of the «Kurchatov Institute» Research and Development Center will be opened, where they will be engaged in the creation of robotic systems, the development of nano-, bio-, information, cognitive and socio-humanitarian technologies, the development of technologies for the production of aviation and automotive fuel from renewable biomass, as well as other promising areas of modern science.
In addition, the [ERA] technopolis will soon begin a joint project with the Kurchatov Institute on the development and adaptation of virtual simulators for modeling the external environment for the Navy and civilian fleets. Source.
October 3, 2018. About 500 resumes were received from candidates for scientific positions in the military innovation technopolis ERA. Information about this spread the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Official competitive selection was carried out from July to August 2018. Applicants sent resumes and portfolios describing advances in scientific areas in the stated areas. On average, 15 people applied for one vacancy.
119 candidates entered the first stage of the competition. Most are residents of the Southern, Central, Volga federal districts and the city of Moscow. There are also candidates from Siberia, Transbaikal and the Far East, as well as from the Republic of Tatarstan. The main selection criteria were the presence of work experience in the specialty, the presence of an academic degree, the relevant field of scientific activity and the field of science, the presence of an academic title, and patents for an invention or utility model. Source.
October 22, 2018. In the ERA technopolis, scientific companies began training with the UAV laboratory, transferred by the Advanced Research Foundation (ФПИ).
The flying laboratory was developed as part of a joint project of the Advanced Research Foundation and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). The decision to transfer the complex to the [ERA] technopolis was made by the Fund’s Board of Trustees in September 2018. It is reported that the flying laboratory is a research platform based on a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), equipped with a technical vision systems and powerful on-board computing systems. In addition, the drones, in the framework of training, performed an autonomous flight along a given route with rebuilding into various formations. Source1 / Source2.
November 9, 2018. It is reported that the first 160 military personnel from four scientific companies arrived for military service in the military technopolis ERA. In 18 operating laboratories of the research and education sector, more than 600 units of unique laboratory test equipment are currently used, which are already involved in the implementation of 40 planned innovation projects. Their main focus is the development of advanced defense technologies. Source.
November 16, 2018. Roman Kordyukov, Head of the Main Directorate for Research and Development Activities of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, called the technopolis a project that has no analogues in the world. According to Kordyukov, the ERA military innovation technopolis will attract not only leading Russian, but also world scientists to work. Source.
November 22, 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the MIT ERA. The President familiarized himself with the work of the Center for Innovative Programming, intended for the development of breakthrough technologies in the information sphere, with the activities of the Scientific and Laboratory Center, conducting research in 8 scientific areas. Source.
During the visit, the head of state reviewed the laboratories in the areas of research biotech systems and technologies, where he was shown laboratories monitoring vital functions of the body of military personnel and preventing pathological conditions, laboratory of biomedical and additive technologies, laboratory of cellular technologies. Source.
Vladimir Putin highly appreciated the military technopolis ERA in Anapa, which should start working in full at the end of 2019. It is planned that by 2020 more than two thousand scientists and engineers will work in the technopolis.
According to V. Putin, modern research and production complexes will be created in Anapa, which will contribute to the rapid and efficient development of defense and security technologies. The President instructed the enterprises of the Russian defense-industrial complex to establish close contact with ERA technopolis. Source.
November 23, 2018. Promsvyazbank became interested in the work of the military technolopolis ERA, engaged in innovative developments, and opens a laboratory on its basis. The bank is going to do research in the field of IT security and focus on building technology and financial instruments.
«A bank that positions itself as the core structure of the defense industry must always remain competitive. The secret of success is simple — to invest in technology in a timely manner. The laboratory opened in [ERA] technopolis will replenish the list of successful Promsvyazbank ideas and allow us to achieve our goals«, — explained the head of the bank, Petr Fradkov. Source.
December 3, 2018. It is reported that a unique ERA complex was built in 155 days. The President signed the decree on the establishment of the [ERA] complex on June 25, 2018, and already in November the technopolis received the first soldiers. They are engaged in the development of unique weapons, robotics, pattern recognition, nanotechnology and many others.
In the military technopolis under Anapa, the army team are developing something that many have not even heard of. For example, in one of the laboratories, operators of scientific companies — that’s how the military’s guys call it — are working on a portable gas analyzer that will recognize toxic substances and immediately calculate their level in the air. Devices that ERA currently developing, can detect even the most subtle smells. And the «scent» of such aggregates is ten times higher than that of dogs.
In the technopolis, they are engaged in cell cultivation, the army team «interfere» including into DNA molecules. The technopolis does not disclose details, but it is here that they are developing ways of dealing with biological weapons.
Also, in the new [ERA] technopolis, they are engaged in landing aircraft without the participation of pilots. «Sukhoi’s» unique development is just being tested here. This is an antenna with the help of which any aircraft can be landed by operating it from the ground, rather than being in an airplane. The representative of the «Sukhoi» company, Sergey Glazkov, said that «already in the middle of 2019 it will be possible to autonomously land the plane from here, from ERA«.
The robot, which itself destroys the target.
The automatic target tracking system is another unique development that is being tested in Anapa. Together with the army team, representatives of the «Kalashnikov» plant are testing it now. For example, if you set a goal to this system — to destroy the gang of the alleged enemy — it first eliminates those who go with the weapon, and then all the rest. Source.
Two recent news reports about the visit of the ERA technopolis by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. First video (watch interval 18’45 — 23’38):
Second video (watch interval 0’56 — 6’25):
There are a lot of people who want to serve in the ERA — a competition to scientific companies sometimes just beyond the limit, reaching up to 25 people per place. 37 industrial enterprises have already placed their laboratories in the technopolis — UralVagonZavod, Kalashnikov, Sukhoi etc. There are so many requests for cooperation with ERA that the Russian Ministry of Defense developed the concept of the second stage of an innovative technopolis — it is about expanding laboratories, research, living space etc.
The main goal of research and development planned in the ERA technopolis should be the creation of military-purpose artificial intelligence systems and the technologies supporting them. As well as the creation of projects capable of providing military-technical leadership of Russia, the creation of systems related to hypersonic unmanned aircraft, samples of precision weapons on new physical principles. The uniqueness of the ERA technopolis is that each development can be implemented entirely on its own basis: from the idea to the test sample. Source.
As part of the ERA technopolis under construction, it is planned to open a school-camp for gifted children, like the «Sirius» educational center in the city of Sochi.
Fyodor Dedus, head of MIT ERA.
Colonel Fyodor Dedus, former deputy director of the Rosoboronzakaz, deputy chairman of the military-scientific committee of the Armed Forces, has been appointed head of the ERA technopolis. In an interview dated June 8, 2018, Dedus said that the ERA technopolis would be able to create new weapons in the shortest possible time — up to three years, whereas now it is up to ten years for complex [weapons] samples. Dedus also added that «according to preliminary estimates, about 80 organizations with their own laboratories, as well as design and engineering units will function in the [ERA] technopolis«. According to Dedus, such intellectual potential will ensure the implementation at the same time of at least 45 research and innovation projects on the basis of ERA. Source.
Here is the source where one can see some more interesting photos of the ERA technopolis. ALAFF will continue to monitor the development of this unique project of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
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