MOSCOW, July 5 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will increase its number of cruise missiles by 30 times by the end of the current decade, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday.
“We will boost the number of cruise missiles fivefold in the next three years and by 30 times by 2020,” Shoigu told reporters after a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.
Russia currently fields an undisclosed number of air-launched and sea-launched cruise missiles.
The Russian Air Force said last year that it would accept into service in 2013 the new Raduga Kh-101 cruise missile, capable of delivering precision strikes with a conventional warhead at a long distance.
Shoigu's announcement could be seen as part of Russia’s response to the proposed European “missile shield,” which Moscow considers a threat to its nuclear deterrent.
