MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax-AVN) - A department that would oversee high-tech research and development for the armed forces will start being set up at Russia's Defense Ministry this month, a source familiar with the situation said.
"The new department will have a staff of 230 - about 160 military officers and 70 civilian specialists in various fields of research related to defense and security," the source told Interfax-AVN.
The department would report to Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko and consist of three units - a strategic research section, an information and analysis center and a unit coordinating the activities of the other two divisions, the source said.
Enrollment for the department would be declared immediately after the current national New Year-Orthodox Christmas holiday season, which ends on January 8, he said.
More than 40% of the military the department's military personnel would come from among reservists and the Aerospace Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Forces, the source said.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is keeping the organization of the department "under personal control" and, at a recent conference, ordered top military commanders to quickly select candidates to staff the department, the source said.