MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The share of modern equipment in Russia's strategic nuclear forces has reached 95%, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Defense Ministry’s board.

"This year, thanks to the consistent implementation of the state program for armaments and smooth work of defense enterprises, the share of modern weapons and equipment in the strategic nuclear forces as a whole has been brought to 95%, and in the naval component, to almost 100%," Putin said.

He noted that 15 launchers of the Yars and Avangard missile systems would enter combat duty in the strategic missile forces by the end of the year.

"We have received four submarines, two of them just recently. Last week I attended the inauguration of The Krasnoyarsk, a multi-purpose nuclear submarine, and The Emperor Alexander III, equipped with Bulava ballistic missiles," Putin recalled.

Also, he said, the aviation component was being modernized. In particular, four Tupolev-160M missile armed strategic bombers joined in.

"It is necessary to continue to maintain the combat readiness of strategic forces at the highest level. All of the plans approved in this area will certainly materialize," he promised.