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Dmitry Medvedev will control the modernization of the defence industry

He noted that Russia will allocate 24 billion roubles to create conditions for the production of tactical missile defence systems

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a meeting devoted to the fulfilment of the federal targeted program on the development of the defence and industrial complex for the period from 2011 to 2020 on Monday. He noted that Russia will allocate 24 billion roubles to create conditions for the production of tactical missile defence systems Iskander-M and military enterprises will allocate 16 billion roubles themselves.

The meeting began with Medvedev’s statement that the missile defence system Iskander-M, which the Machine-Building Design Bureau produces, is “certainly one of the most effective types of weapons in their category and outpaces substantially foreign models,” the Kommersant daily reported. The newspaper emphasized that the deployment of the missile defence systems Iskander-M in the Kaliningrad special area is Russia’s response to elements of the missile defence systems in Europe. The prime minister recalled that under the federal targeted program 17 military enterprises will receive over 24 billion roubles for upgrading and construction of production facilities for the serial production of Iskander-M. Ten brigade sets of Iskander-M should be supplied in the troops under the state armament program through 2020.

A Kommersant source in the military and industrial commission under the government noted that the modernisation of the enterprise will help not only to commission the missile defence systems timely to the military, but increase the export potential of their products highly. “The demand on Iskander-E is quite high, but the domestic market remains the priority today,” the source said. “The reequipping of the enterprises will begin in 2014. Right after most contracts with the Defence Ministry are honoured the export trend will be intensified thanks to the modernization,” the source said.

On Monday Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated about the beginning of implementing the program for modernization of the defence and industrial complex, for which Russia is planning to spend three trillion roubles until 2020, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily reported. The task to reequip the defence and industrial complex is no less important than the state armament program, for which another 20 trillion roubles are planned to spend. The first step in the program for modernisation of the defence and industrial sector became the decision to allocate 24 billion roubles from the budget to reequip the production of the missile defence systems Iskander-M. These missiles are planned to use for the struggle with the infrastructure of the enemy’s missile defence and to export.

The premier was dissatisfied with the progress of rearmament in the country and insists on complex supplies of weapons in the Armed Forces, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily noted.