History

The history of the Arsenal Design Bureau named after Mikhail Vasil’evich Frunze Federal State Unitary Enterprise (hereinafter referred to as KB Arsenal) and the Machine-Building Plant Arsenal (now OAO MZ Arsenal) dates back to 1711, when Peter the Great founded the cannon foundries, where the first Russian guns for army and navy were designed and manufactured.

KB Arsenal (formerly known as TsKB-7) was founded on November 21, 1949, on the basis of the design departments of the Arsenal Plant and TsKB Navy Artillery.

These are the most complicated defense systems and articles created by KB Arsenal in retrospect:

These are just the primary directions of the KB Arsenal's activity.  The most famous design developments were carried out in the field of complex civil equipment (such as devices for compressing and refrigerating, small-sized cryogenics mounts, etc.). KB Arsenal has incarnated the majority of its design development in advanced specimens of defense engineering.

FSUE "KB "Arsenal" has made more than 20 types of automated ordnance mounts of caliber of 45 ... 130 mm and several modifications of various shipboard launch mounts. The overwhelming majority of Russian Navy ships have been equipped with Arsenal's ordnance mounts.

In 1960 - 1980 years KB Arsenal, as the prime contractor, together with its subcontractors made the first specimens of rocket weapon of the new type in the country – combat missile complexes (CMC) for strategic purpose equipped with middle-ranged ballistic missiles on solid propellant.  These are ground-based mobile CMC equipped with PT-15 missile and naval CMC equipped with P-31 missile for submarines.  KB Arsenal ceased development of the combat missiles in 1980, and since then space technology has become the primary subject for the enterprise.

Developing for space technology has been lasting at KB Arsenal since 1969.  In 1970s, due to work of КB Arsenal and its subcontractors, satellites for monitoring the Earth surface observation and remote sounding begin to operate in a circum-terrestrial space.  
Since then KB Arsenal and its subcontractors have conducted development, manufacture and operation of more than 80 spacecraft of COSMOS series.

In 1980s two experimental PLASMA-A spacecraft (COSMOS-1818 and COSMOS-1867) with Nuclear Power Systems (NPS) of a new type were designed. They were inserted into high orbits in 1987.  Thus the prototype of the new high orbital spacecraft with powerful NPS and maximum ecological safety had been created. At that time KB Arsenal was participating in the works on ENERGIA-BURAN rocket and space complex. Powerful hydraulic steering gears (with digital control) for turning chambers of thrusters of ENERGIA launcher and the device for explosively dangerous gases afterburning have been developed.

In 1990s conversional space projects were started. CONE-A space experiment was the first one.  It was carried out in the framework of WIND-CONE joint Russian-American space project. That project concerned gamma-ray bursts study with the scientific equipment of Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute. It was carried out at COSMOS-2326 spacecraft developed by KB Arsenal in 1995-1997 and was continued at COSMOS-2367 in 1999-2001. KB Arsenal also took part in SEA LAUNCH international project. For that project KB Arsenal developed special mount technological equipment for operation with a space booster of the ZENITH SL launcher on Odyssey assembly-command ship.

During all the time of its activity KB Arsenal is in advance guard of creation of the most complicated equipment, and it always solves its tasks qualitatively and on a high engineering level. KB Arsenal keeps its creative potential for its new works and achievements.