Russian arms upgrade to go on: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that budget cuts prompted by Russia’s economic difficulties will not impact Moscow’s military modernization plans.

According to the reports, he made the remarks during an address to Russia’s top military authorities as well as top executives of the country’s arms industries.

Putin said the military received hundreds of new warplanes, missiles and armored vehicles last year as part of the Kremlin’s weapons upgrade program.

He also revealed that in the past year, the Russian military had received 96 new aircraft, 81 helicopters, 152 air defense systems, 291 radars as well as over 400 armored vehicles and artillery systems.

Putin said Russian defense industries have significantly reduced their dependence on imports, but continue to remain reliant on some foreign-manufactured parts.

He called on arms industry executives to adopt swifter measures to develop the production of locally-made substitutes.

Putin also emphasized that the value of new Russian armaments were highlighted during its military’s aerial campaign against terrorists throughout Syria.

According to Putin, while Russia’s weapon makers honored most of their contracts, some were not fulfilled on time.

SS