MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. The Industry and Trade Ministry does not expect any sharp reduction in defense procurement in the years ahead and believes that the volume of production by the military industrial complex will be kept well-oiled by boosting civilian-oriented production, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with TASS.

"There won’t be any sharp reduction in defense procurement, nor will there be any unexpected situations as we are well-aware of all the parameters of the state defense procurement program until 2025. This is a well-balanced program: any possible decrease in defense procurement will be offset by the civilian market. It is planned to bolster military and technical cooperation, as there are potentially attractive orders that we previously abandoned due to the plants’ full capacity and our main client - the Defense Ministry - being a priority," he said.

At the end of the last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to step up the manufacture of high-tech products, both military and civilian, as well as dual-use products to 50% at minimum by 2030.

Manturov noted that Russian military-industrial plants have the required experience: the SSJ-100 airliner is being constructed at a dual-purpose plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, along with the SU-35 fifth-generation jet fighter, whereas the MC-21 long-haul airliner will be constructed in Irkutsk along with the plant’s defense production.

"This aircraft’s manufacture will keep growing, compensating for the fall in the SU-30 jet fighter production," Mansurov concluded.