Military Scientific Directorate

The Military Scientific Directorate (MSD) is a subdivision of the General Staff, which provides scientific support to the development and training of the Armed Forces (inter alia, operations of the Belarus–Russia Regional Joint Force) and takes part in the elaboration of state defence programmes.

The Military Scientific Directorate performs the following tasks:

• organising scientific work in the Armed Forces in order to promote military science, strengthen national defence capability, improve military tactics and techniques, determine the trends in arms development and educate high-level scientific workers;
• updating military regulations in line with the progress in military science;
• supervising heraldic work in the Armed Forces in order to build pride and honour among service members;
• working out MoD’s motions to the State Armament Programme;
• elaborating draft legal acts of the Defence Ministry and the General Staff within the competence of MSD;
• arranging scientific conferences, seminars and post-exercise discussions, led by the Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff;
• acting on behalf of MoD as the state customer of scientific and sci-tech products;
• writing R&D-related chapters in national and union (Belarusian–Russian) programmes, plans and other fundamental documents, dedicated to the development of the Armed Forces;
• working out motions to the national defence policy (Belarus Military Doctrine);
• elaborating MoD’s motions to the state defence order;
• participating in international military cooperation;
• providing support to the Military Scientific Council of the Belarusian Armed Forces and the Belarusian–Russian one, the Armed Forces Regulations Commission, MoD’s Heraldic Council, MoD’s R&D Examination Council and the section of applied problems under the Presidium of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences, as well as facilitates duly execution of their decisions.

The Military Scientific Directorate consists of six departments:

• the 1st department (of military security problems) arranges theoretic studies that can be applied in the elaboration of the national defence policy (Belarus Military Doctrine) and oversees the training of high-level scientific workers;
• the 2nd department (of military theory, history and heraldry) organises scientific studies on general military theory, theories of military art, territorial defence and development of the Armed Forces and Territorial Troops, deals with military history and heraldry, as well as oversees regulations elaboration in the Armed Forces;
• the 3rd department (of arms research, development and upgrade) supervises scientific and inventive work in the Armed Forces in order to develop sci-tech products;
• the 4th department (of interaction with national government bodies on the issues of sci-tech work) in cooperation with government agencies and the National Academy of Sciences determines the key lines of arms development and defence-related sci-tech projects;
• the 5th department (organisation and planning) manages scientific work in the Armed Forces and works out proposals to the State Armament Programme, the Armed Forces Development Plan and Belarus-Russia defence projects;
• the 6th department (legal) provides legal support in R&Ds contracted by the MSD, as well as facilitates due process of law in the actions of the directorate’s employees.