MOSCOW. June 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The draft state armaments program for 2007-2015 will be discussed by the Russian Defense Industry Commission on Friday.
A commission spokesman told Interfax-Military News Agency that the program is expected to receive 4.939 trillion Russian rubles ($182.6 billion), with about 4 trillion rubles ($148 billion) to be allocated directly to the Defense Ministry.
Deputy Prime Minister/Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at an earlier meeting with President Vladimir Putin that the program was primarily drafted by the Defense Ministry, which had taken into account the national defense policy, the Armed Forced development plans, and the military cooperation program.
"While the previous program focused on research and development, the new one focuses on large-scale arms procurements," he emphasized.
According to Ivanov, over 63% of assets earmarked will be allocated for armaments procurements. According to him, the program envisions development of strategic nuclear and general-purpose forces.
He pointed out that whole units would be re-equipped with new arms starting in 2007.
Commenting on the state defense order, Ivanov stressed that priority would be assigned to manufacturers, supplying the Armed Forces with the necessary systems, first and foremost, hi-tech products.