Russia Will Continue Advanced Weapon Development Despite Economic Crisis

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The economic difficulties that Russia is currently facing will not cause any reduction in the development of advanced weapons, the deputy chairman of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission said Friday.

"As far as research and development work is concerned, we do not intend to curtail these operations, as they lay groundwork for the future. Today we have economic difficulties, tomorrow we don't, but weapon development is a very long and complex process, with each of its stages requiring various resources," Oleg Bochkaryov told RIA Novosti.

Bochkaryov further explained that "smart planning" as well as proper resource allocation was crucial for all facets of weapons development, including design, the preparation of engineering documents and working with prototypes.

The Russian economy has been experiencing a slowdown mainly due to a drop in oil prices and sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West over Ukraine.

In early February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the current economic crisis posed some major challenges for the Russian defense industry, caused by soaring prices for the country's defense output. However, Rogozin claimed that Russia's rearmament plans could not be jeopardized as a result of the recent economic changes.

Russia is currently facing large-scale military reforms which started being implemented in 2008. The measures include an ambitious rearmament program worth 20 trillion rubles ($325 billion). By 2020, it is expected that 70 percent of the Russian army's weapons and military equipment will have been modernized.