A recent article elaborating on Russia's recent announcement regarding their military goals:
"Russian President Dmitri Medvedev this week announced a large-scale military rearmament program, which he says will require considerable resources despite difficulties associated with the current global economic crisis. There are political and economic realities that could be driving as well as hindering Mr. Medvedev's proposal.
Tanks and missiles paraded across Red Square last May for the first time since the Soviet collapse in 1991. But Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov recently said 90 percent of Russia's military technology is outdated. This includes most of the hardware on parade."
On March 17, President Dmitri Medvedev unveiled an ambitious rearmament plan to modernize Russia's military. Mr. Medvedev says Russia's primary task is the enhancement of troop combat readiness; not the usual enhancement, but rather qualitative enhancement - above all through the strategic nuclear forces.
The Kremlin leader says Russian security is threatened by NATO expansion, local crises, and international terrorism. He adds the conflict against Georgia last August revealed flaws in Russia's conventional forces as well. Independent Russian military analyst Viktor Litovkin says Russia lacks combat support systems rather than firing units, and notes that such systems consist of drones, precision weapons, reconnaissance, navigation, communication, and guidance systems, etc. He adds that Russia in this field is far behind what he calls the modern civilized world.
President Medvedev says Russia will devote considerable resources to develop and purchase new weapons, despite a tight national budget affected by the declining price of Russian oil exports.
The entire article:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-20-voa22.cfm
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