MOSCOW, October 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is to increase annual spending on nuclear weapons by more than 50 percent in the next three years, a parliamentary defense committee said Tuesday.
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The draft federal budget provides for a 60 percent increase in overall national defense spending by 2016, according to the report, rising from 2.1 trillion rubles this year to 3.38 trillion rubles in 2016.
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Medvedev warned that budget cuts between 2014 and 2016 could amount to 5 percent in some areas. President Vladimir Putin has said that budget expenditure will have to be cut to take account of reduced growth forecasts, but that a sequester – a series of automatic budget cuts – is not on the table. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the budget would not mean any cuts in the Defense Ministry’s procurement plans.
Russia is currently in the midst of its biggest rearmament drive for a generation, part of a massive overhaul of the forces including a move toward all-professional services.
New nuclear weapons systems entering service include the navy’s Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile, the Kh-102 long-range cruise missile for the air force and new land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles for the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN).
Full article: Russia to Up Nuclear Weapons Spending 50% by 2016 (RIA Novosti)
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