After the fall of the USSR Belarus inherited a great number of enterprises, which produced military goods, mainly unaccomplished components, units, details, etc. Old economic and production links with foreign enterprises were mostly broken. At the same time the Belarusian defence industry was disconnected as officially defence enterprises belonged to different branches of industry. Such situation did not facilitate the development of the defence industry.

Under these conditions the state authorities clearly realised the objective reality and understood the urgent necessity to improve not only combat training but also armament and military and special equipment in order to maintain the combat potential of the Armed Forces at the level desired.

The State Military Industrial Committee was established on the initiative of the Belarusian President under Presidential Decree No. 599 of 30 December 2003 in order to implement common policy in the sphere of defence, development and strengthening of military-technical cooperation with foreign states.

The committee was supposed to accomplish tasks mainly connected with implementing state policy in the sphere of defence, coordinating the activities of administrative bodies aimed at forming the state defence order, as well as working out and implementing the development strategy of the defence industry.

At the first stage, which started in 2003, the State Military Industrial Committee stabilised the situation at the defence enterprises and coordinated their activities.

The adoption of the State Armament Programme (SAP) for 2006–2015, which implies gradual technical re-equipment of the Armed Forces, has become the most important milestone in the committee’s activity. This proved to be the first large-scale military-technical project in the history of sovereign Belarus. The programme was worked out in compliance with the state’s financial and economic capabilities and it specifies measures to be taken at all the stages of the operating lifetime of armament and military equipment from their development and production to entering the inventory, as well as maintaining combat readiness of armament and military equipment inherited from the Soviet Army and their improving.

The measures taken by the State Military Industrial Committee allowed increasing common operability and service life of armament and military equipment, as well as combat potential of the Armed Forces considerably. Due to research and development activities implemented, Belarusian enterprises obtained the opportunity to produce new reconnaissance, electronic warfare and navigation equipment, as well as all-level automated control systems for the Air Force and Air Defence. All this resulted in up to 10–15 new samples of armament and military equipment, which enter the inventory of the Belarusian army annually.

The second stage of the committee’s development was completed in 2010, when the management of all elements of military-technical policy was centralised.

The State Military Industrial Committee has actually become a national administrative body fully in charge of Belarus’ military-technical policy, regulating and controlling the following spheres: development and maintenance of armament and military and special equipment; development of the defence industry, military-technical cooperation of Belarus with other states, export control and navigational activities, as well as coordination of activities of Belarusian administrative bodies in the spheres mentioned.

Having considered the priority tasks of Belarus’ economy and the country’s military-technical policy aimed at production of cutting-edge competitive samples of armament and military and special equipment, demanded both in Belarus and abroad, the Military Industrial Committee’s Development Programme for 2011–2015 was developed. The programme determines five priority lines in the development of armament and military and special equipment: military geoinformation systems, unmanned aircraft systems, systems for countering precise weapons, combat systems for the special operations forces and the Army, as well as firing systems.

           At the moment the structure of the State Military Industrial Committee includes 24 main defence companies. It also coordinates activities of more than 200 entities, which are licensed to develop, produce, improve and maintain military products; 80 of them are licensed to conduct foreign trade activities in relation to products for military purposes.

           Belarus’ policy in the sphere of the development of the military industrial complex is aimed to make it effective and high-tech multiproduct industry.

It includes enterprises of radio engineering, electronic, optical-mechanical, aviation, electro-technical and instrument making industries, plants of the car- and tractor industry, armament and military and special equipment overhaul and repair plants and some enterprises of other industries.