Russia to build up defences
2008-09-26 21:06
Ornburg - Russia will boost its air and naval defences by building more modern warships, nuclear-powered submarines and a system of air-space defences, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
"Construction of new types of warships is planned, primarily nuclear submarines armed with cruise missiles and multi-purpose submarines" by 2020, Medvedev said after military exercises near Orenburg in southern Russia.
"A system of joint air and space defence will be created," he also told the meeting with military chiefs from across Russia, adding that plans for reforming the military by 2020 would be ready by December.
"We must achieve supremacy in the air, in making high-precision strikes at land and sea targets, as well as in fast troops movements," he said.
Medvedev's powerful predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has already announced a 28% increase in Russia's military budget for next year.
The plans for wide-scale military reform were unveiled a month after Russian forces fought a brief war in Georgia using sometimes outdated equipment.
Referring to the conflict, Medvedev said: "A war can flare up suddenly and can be absolutely real... And local, smouldering conflicts, which are sometimes even called 'frozen', will turn into a real military conflagration."
- AFP