MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. Russia will focus on improving drones and the invulnerabilities of fighter aircraft and bombers to modern air defense systems to boost the Aerospace Forces’ combat potential this year, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Tuesday.

"We will raise the combat potential of the Aerospace Forces both with regard to the capabilities of fighters and bombers to operate in areas of modern air defense systems and the upgrade of unmanned aerial vehicles," the defense chief said.

The defense minister said at the ministry’s board meeting in late November that Russian troops were testing new methods of the combat employment of missile troops and artillery during the special military operation in Ukraine, primarily, through reconnaissance/strike systems that included drones.

At the ministry’s end-of-the-year board meeting with the participation of President Vladimir Putin in December, Shoigu stressed the need to accept three Tu-160M missile-carrying bombers for service in the country’s airborne strategic nuclear forces in 2023.