Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s instructions on the extremely important role of science and technology in increasing productivity and creating material possessions for socialism construction, Factory A34’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have drastically, synchronously taken measures to undertake and apply scientific - technological researches to manufacturing and repairing weapons and technical equipment.

Factory A34 under Air Defence - Air Force Service is tasked with conducting medium- and large-scale repairs of anti-aircraft artillery, low-altitude missiles, and specialised vehicles and machinery, manufacturing oxygen, nitrogen, materials, and spare parts, applying scientific - technological advances to upgrading weapons and technical equipment for units of the Service and the Military’s air defence force, and serving training and combat readiness. In recent years, as the Service has been moving straight to modernity, the demand for manufacturing, repairing, and upgrading weapons and technical equipment has been increased. Meanwhile, staff members of the Factory have been spread out. There has been a lack of skilled technicians. The system of equipment and repair technologies has been limited. Besides, funding and spare parts have been scarce. Against such a backdrop, in order to successfully fulfil its assigned political mission, the Factory has been concentrating on undertaking and applying scientific - technological researches to manufacturing and repair, while considering this work as a determinant to its task performance. To that end, it has been drastically, synchronously, and effectively implementing various measures as follows.

First of all, grasping and following Uncle Ho’s teachings: “cadres are the root of all work,” over the years, the Factory has placed emphasis on building a contingent of cadres and technical employees in a compact, strong, in-depth manner to ensure solid inheritance and development. This measure plays a decisive role in raising the effectiveness of scientific researches and satisfying the increasingly high requirements set by the Factory’s technical work and the modernisation of the Service. Adhering to higher echelons’ resolutions, directives, and guiding documents, the Factory’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have frequently cooperated with competent offices in correctly reviewing the Factory’s pool of cadres and technical employees. Grounded on such a review, they have developed plans of personnel training and use in accordance with each staff member’s capacity to ensure a balance between specialities. In planning work, the Factory has attached importance to taking professional ethics into account and using the quality of products and scientific researches as a “key” yardstick for evaluating each staff member’s professional competence. Moreover, it has regularly recommended the Service Command to select and deploy cadres graduating from universities and academies both inside and outside the Military with great experience in research within units across the Service to the Factory itself so as to reinforce its high-quality human resources. In the training of cadres and technical employees, emphasis has been placed on training them to apply new technologies and master state-of-the-art equipment to better the quality of repairs and products. Besides, the Factory has actively, proactively worked with relevant units to execute research projects and plans for technology transfer and materiel improvement as an important channel for training its cadres and technical employees. Up to now, it has 20 masters of science and 42 engineers. Many cadres and skilled technicians of the Factory have approached the qualification of top experts in air defence artillery and low-altitude missiles within the Service, and they have been really acting as a core force in undertaking scientific researches and applying new technologies to manufacturing and repair.

Leaders of the Factory inspecting repair work of an affiliate

Most of the weapons and technical equipment which are currently repaired at the Factory have been in use for ages; their spare parts are now scarce. There is a dearth of documents for their use, which greatly negatively impacts on the Factory’s task performance. Meanwhile, the requirements set by repair work and the demand for modernising weapons and technical equipment for the Service’s training, combat readiness, and airspace protection are unceasingly increased. To deal with such a problem, the Factory’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have focused on achieving a breakthrough in optimising technologies for repairing weapons and technical equipment, designing specialised documents for the exploitation of materiel, and applying new technologies to modernising weapons, technical equipment, and repair assembly lines. Doing so would provide a solid scientific foundation for the Factory to repair and upgrade weapons and technical equipment in both long and short term. Thus, the Factory has directed its Technical Office to cooperate with competent agencies in formulating and implementing detailed research plans/projects synchronously. It has developed its engineers and skilled technical employees into research teams and groups according to their specialities (electricity - electronics, precise engineering, and optics), estimated funding, materials, and equipment, and selected sets of good weapons and equipment for research. In the research process, it has required those teams and groups to adhere to procedures, conduct their researches for many times, and ensure accuracy within systems. Besides, it has proactively supplemented and perfected technological procedures to maintain a balance between human resources, premises for repair assembly lines, capacity of repair equipment and assembly lines, and technological documents. Doing so has enabled the Factory to succeed in designing a “system of parameters” for sets of military hardware as the basis for developing documents on repair and manufacturing according to different tasks. Up to now, the Factory has designed and translated 155 documents on specialised exploitation and repair technology for weapons and technical equipment, which has been highly appreciated by its higher echelons.

Furthermore, the Factory has concentrated on researching into the development of automation technology and applying techniques of automatic control, semiconductor technology, and digital technology to upgrading and repairing weapons and technical equipment. In the process, on the one hand, the Factory has promoted its internal strength; on the other, it has fostered cooperation with research centres and other military factories in applying scientific - technological advances. At the same time, it has always proactively mastered technical and tactical features of new-generation weapons and equipment to formulate projects on upgrading the old-generation ones in accordance with our country’s scientific - technological capacity and the air defence force’s combat conditions. Grounded on scientific researches, the Factory has advised the Service and the Ministry of National Defence on many highly feasible projects and directly designed action plans for those researches, thereby contributing to modernising low-altitude anti-aircraft weapons and repair assembly lines and meeting the requirements set by the building of a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” Service. Over the years, the Factory has successfully upgraded air defence artillery and low-altitude missiles with high operational effectiveness, such as 3CY-23-4M self-propelled anti-aircraft systems and K8-60 radar systems. It is worth noting that in 2021, the Factory successfully repaired 37mm-2N semi-automated air defence artillery and designed technological procedures for repairing 57mm anti-aircraft artillery, 37mm-2N semi-automated air defence artillery, and A89 missile systems.

To facilitate the development of scientific researches both widely and deeply, the Factory has focused on renewing mechanisms for managing and organising scientific - technological activities. It has frequently adjusted mechanisms of coordination, while managing and tapping resources for scientific research in a close, focalised manner. More investments have been placed on applying scientific researches to practical missions and diversifying forms of research, such as self-research, research group, research cooperation, and technology transfer. As for high-quality research projects, the Factory has provided financial assistance for trial production; it would consider placing bulk orders for good-quality products and ensure the benefits of groups of researchers. Furthermore, it has directed its offices and units to step up the work of propagation and education to raise their cadres and technical employees’ awareness of the importance of scientific researches to its task performance and development. Due regard has been paid to supplementing and completing regulations and policies on commendation to encourage technical initiatives and innovations. As a result, in the past 5 years, the Factory has undertaken and successfully applied 58 research projects to repairing and upgrading weapons and technical equipment, thus making significant contributions to raising the quality of its repair and production and meeting the task requirements in the new situation.

Bringing into play those achievements, in the upcoming time, Factory A34 will keep executing the 13th Politburo’s Conclusion 01-KL/TW on continuing to realise the 12th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW via practical, effective measures in order to further improve the quality of its scientific researches, successfully fulfil its task, deserve to be the Military’s top centre for repairing low-altitude air defence weapons and technical equipment, and contribute to building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” Air Defence - Air Force Service.

Sr. Col. VU VAN DONG, Director of the Factory