MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Lt. Gen. Anatoly Gulyaev said that Russia's Soyuz-2.1b and Rokot carrier rockets had already put into orbit two satellites for the needs of the Defense Ministry earlier in the year.
"Three more launches, which are being prepared in line with determined schedules, are planned before the end of the year."
The Russian Aerospace Forces were created on August 1 after the consolidation of the Russian Air Force with the Aerospace Defense Forces. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the reform was aimed at improvement of Russia's aerospace defense system and at concentration of all the responsibilities for the formation of the military-technical policy aimed at the development of corresponding troops in one unified center.
