Putin urges Russian nuclear weapons boost

A Russian Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile is driven through Red Square in Moscow in May 2009 (AFP Photo/DMITRY KOSTYUKOV)

 

Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for the country to reinforce its military nuclear potential and praised the army’s performance in its Syria campaign.

In a speech that recapped military activities in 2016, Putin said the army’s preparedness has “considerably increased” and called for continued improvement that would ensure it can “neutralise any military threat”.

“We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems,” the Kremlin strongman said.

Russia to begin production of new high-speed helo in 2022

Russia’s future RACHEL high-speed helicopter will no doubt feature elements of Kamov’s new Ka-92 co-axial compound with a pusher-propeller design (pictured) to achieve its stated top speed of 270 kt. Source: IHS/Patrick Allen

 

Russia is to begin production of a new helicopter that will be capable of speeds of up to 270 kt (500 km/h; 310 mph) in the early part of the next decade, state media reported on 1 September.