ST. PETERSBURG. June 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian president's aide for defense industry Alexander Burutin has said the production of aircraft carriers should be included as priority in its own specially funded federal program.
"Aircraft carriers should be built in Russia as part of a special federal program independently of the state arms program," he said at the International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
The Navy is drafting a development plan for the period to 2040, which envisions that aircraft carries should be constructed, he added.
Admiral Vladimir Masorin, the Russian Navy commander, told Interfax-AVN earlier that Russia will start building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers no later than 2015.