Russia Buys New Aircraft, Armored Vehicles and Missiles

 Russia’s military will acquire more than 210 new planes and helicopters, over 250 armored vehicles and more than 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2014, President Vladimir Putin announced. The ongoing program to modernize the Russia’s military armament has developed “a good rhythm of work,” Putin said, according to local daily Kommersant.

The announcement came Tuesday at the meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry’s board in the presence of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The acquisitions will be part of the country’s plan to spend US $650 billion on new arms and military equipment by 2020.

Putin said that Russia might be facing a number of potential security threats and challenges in the near future. These include armed conflicts in the Middle East, the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan, and plans to expand US missile defense to Europe. He also noted the Russian Navy would need to protect the country’s security and interests in the Arctic.

Shoigu said that, along with procurements of new arms, there was a necessity to intensify the training of troops. In 2013, Russia’s armed forces acquired 56 planes, 122 helicopters, 260 tanks, 112 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 279 armored personnel carriers, six vessels, a submarine, and a number of missile and gun systems, the defense minister said. [via]