MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. Russia is outpacing many of the world’s advanced armies in developing new armaments with much lesser defense spending, Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Mikhail Popov said in an interview with the government’s Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily on Wednesday.

This has been largely achieved through the implementation of the previous version of the national security strategy that was effective from December 31, 2015, the security official said.

On July 3, Russia’s new version of the national security strategy was published and a decree on its approval was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The state’s defense capability that guarantees Russia’s reliable protection from an entire range of military threats is the basic result of the work that has been carried out. Advanced armaments and military hardware are arriving for the troops in a planned manner," Popov said.

"The latest strategic missile systems are on combat alert and the number of strike aircraft with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as well as warships outfitted with long-range precision weapons is growing. We are also outpacing many advanced armies of the world in developing new armaments with a far smaller defense budget," the security official pointed out.

"The Russian Armed Forces are "combat-ready, mobile, modern, compact and capable of coping with their assigned tasks in any conditions," he said.

This was proven by the Russian air taskforce in Syria and Russia’s peacekeeping operation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict zone," he specified.

Throughout the duration of the previous version of its national security strategy, Russia managed to achieve basic strategic goals in its national defense, such as strategic deterrence and the prevention of military conflicts. Also, the country’s mobilization readiness was boosted, along with the preparedness of the civil defense forces and capabilities, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council said.

"These tasks were addressed in the process of implementing Russia’s military doctrine and defense plan for 2016-2020, and other military planning documents amid the restrictions imposed to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic," the security official explained.