MOSCOW. Sept 8 (Interfax) - Russia has reduced the share of Soviet armored equipment that is scrapped and a large share of it will be upgraded, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Originally, on the initial stage of the program, the plan was to dispose of about 10,000 pieces of Soviet-made armored weapons and equipment were once stockpiled on the storage bases and released after the cuts in the armed forces and, as it was assumed at the time, had no prospects for any further employment," Alexander Shevchenko, head of the Main Automotive-Armored Tank Directorate at the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters.
It has been decided to modify the federal state special-purpose program titled "The industrial disposal of arms and military equipment for 2011-2015, and the period through 2020", he said.
"Given the changes in the international situation and the improved combat training of the Russian Armed Forces, greater patriotism of Russian citizens, and the emergence of new technical and technological decisions on the deep upgrade of the outdated equipment and turning it into modern weapons, the plans regarding the disposal of armored weapons and equipment have been reviewed," he said.
"Currently, about 4,000 pieces of armored weapons and equipment are subject to industrial disposal under the program effective through 2020," Shevchenko said.
The armored vehicles will be upgraded and exported as part of military-technical cooperation following pre-export preparation at maintenance plants.
In addition, a portion of the equipment will be profoundly upgraded to be sent to the Russian Armed Forces, while some armored vehicles will be used at firing ranges as targets or sent to Russian regions to be mounted on war memorials as monuments.