MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Defense Ministry has not changed plans for rearming its military forces regardless of the economic downturn in the country and by the end of 2015, Russia will have 30 percent new arms.
“[The Defense Ministry] has signed state contracts, the industrial complexes have been paid in advance, and quality control and acceptance of the armaments and equipment have already been concluded,” Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia is currently implementing large-scale military reforms originally launched in 2008. The measures include an ambitious rearmament program expected to cost 20 trillion rubles ($325 billion).
It is anticipated that 70 percent of Russian Army weapons and military equipment will have been modernized by 2020. The deadline for implementation of the 2008 rearmament program may be shifted to a later term than initially planned, Putin said during a Q&A session in Moscow on Thursday.
During his 2014 year-end press conference, Putin said Russia's military budget would run up to $50 billion in 2015, despite economic issues.
