MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - Russia has considerably increased production of in-demand weapons and military hardware, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.
"We have significantly increased the pace of production for the most in-demand types of weapons and military hardware," he said, delivering a government report to the State Duma on Thursday.
Mishustin noted that last fall, Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree setting up a coordinating council to meet the needs of the Armed Forces and other troops, military formations and bodies. The council was tasked with addressing issues related to the logistical supplies of troops and enhancing coordination between the federal authorities and the regions.
"The real needs of law enforcement agencies were reviewed briefly. We compared them with the available production capacities. We prioritized supplies and set targets. The supplying enterprises were aided in building inter-plant cooperation," Mishustin said.
"This made it possible to fulfill the task of supplying our fighters with these badly needed armor vests, helmets, and first-aid kits. And, of course, to meet the needs of the Defense Ministry and other law enforcement agencies for weapons and military hardware, as well as other required equipment. We are making quick decisions on certain positions, where there are still difficulties," he said.
"In order to meet the greatly increased demands of organizations of the military industrial sector, investment projects are being implemented at an accelerated pace. The appropriate funding is provided. These measures are aimed at establishing new facilities, purchasing additional equipment and gear," the prime minister said.
"We have reformatted the industry's work. Where necessary, defense industry enterprises have switched to a three-shift schedule. Production cooperation has been expanded, including at the expense of private companies. We engaged scientific teams in this," Mishustin said.
"The regulation on the contractual system was amended in a very short time and special economic measures were introduced to ensure the state defense order. In particular, instances of purchases from single suppliers were expanded. The pricing mechanism has been simplified, the responsibility for refusing to conclude contracts has been tightened," he said.