Perilous
Times
Russia in big military buildup with purchase of 600 planes,
100 ships
By DAVID NOWAK
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 24, 2011; 5:06 AM
MOSCOW -- Russia will spend $650 billion to equip its dilapidated
military with 600 new warplanes, 100 ships and 1,000 helicopters
by 2020, Defense Ministry officials were quoted as saying
Thursday.
The ambitious weapons procurement program also envisages eight new
nuclear submarines and two Mistral aircraft carriers in addition
to the two that Russia is buying from France, Russian news
agencies quoted First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin as
saying.
His announcement comes during a large-scale streamlining of
personnel in Russia's bloated and poorly equipped armed forces.
The unpopular reforms of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov have
seen as many as 200,000 officers lose their jobs and nine of every
10 army units disbanded.
Though the program foresees spending on strategic forces, analysts
hailed the massive order of conventional arms, saying it would
lower Russia's dependence on its nuclear arsenal. But they warned
it could only be a success if there was a professional and
efficient military to use the new equipment.
"Russia needs a professional noncommissioned officers core to
train specialists who can really put these arms to effective use,"
said Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent military analyst. "This
spending necessitates a whole new kind of military."
Last week, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin promised that from next
year 1.5 percent of gross domestic product would be spent on army
modernization, military pay and other defense spending. He said
the country currently allocates 0.5 percent of GDP.
Chief among the aviation procurements are the modern Su-34 and
Su-35 fighters and Mi-26 transport helicopter and Mi-8 gunship
helicopter, Popovkin said. Navy orders include 20 submarines, of
which eight are to be armed with the Bulava nuclear missile -
which has experienced years of glitch-stricken tests - 35
corvettes and 15 frigates, Popovkin said.
The Mistral, which could carry up to 16 helicopters and dozens of
armored vehicles, would allow Russia to land hundreds of troops
quickly on foreign soil. Popovkin said Russia would build two
Mistrals domestically on top of the two it had ordered from
France. The carriers will all feature Russian-only weaponry, he
said.
Several hundred modern mobile S-400 and S-500 air defense missile
systems also are on order.