MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. The Russian Armed Forces must practice firing new weapons systems and drill nonstandard combat situations at military exercises, President Vladimir Putin told an annual board meeting of the Defense Ministry.
"Drills, and long sea voyages must take into account nonstandard situations, up-to-date forms and methods of warfare as well as practice using new kinds of weapons and hardware," the president said. The president mentioned enhancing combat training among the priorities for the Russian Armed Forces, stressing that the military "must be constantly, year by year raising its standards," and function as needed.
Putin stressed that success of a certain battle or major operation is measured literally in seconds, which is why it is necessary to shorten the time of decision-making. For this, the system of control and communications, intelligence and electronic warfare must be updated, new standards in collecting, transmitting and processing data must be adopted. "Digital technologies, artificial intellect, robotics, UAVs - all this must be on the agenda of the qualitative development of our armed forces," the supreme commander-in-chief said.
Putin also set the task of ensuring efficient control over the implementation of the state armament program. Among the priorities, the president also mentioned the development of military cooperation with Russia’s allies, first of all within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (SCTO).
"During the Center2019 exercise, it is necessary to train with our partners in detail in all areas of cooperation to handle shared tasks to ensure security in Central Asia," Putin stressed.