Commander Reveals Level of Equipment of Russian Land Forces With New Weapons

"Over the past five years, more than 10,000 units of modern weapons, military and special equipment have been delivered to the military within the framework of the current state armaments program, which allowed to increase the level of equipment with modern weapons three times, compared to 2012, almost to 45% (44.7% from 15%)," Salyukov said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda, the official newspaper of the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to the official, Russia is fulfilling the goal, set by country's President Vladimir Putin to increase the share of modern weapons in the Land Forces.

Speaking of modern weaponry, Salyukov noted that the development of an analogue of Russia’s Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile system by foreign countries is possible not earlier than 2025.

The Iskander-M (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system designed to destroy a wide variety of ground targets at a range of up to 500 kilometers (over 300 miles).

“According to the forecasts of the developers, the creation of its [Iskander-M] analogue by foreign countries is possible not earlier than 2025 … this complex is a high-precision, effective weapon capable of launching both ballistic and cruise missiles that overpass existing and prospective missile defense systems,” Salyukov said.

In February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister reported that Putin had signed the country’s new state arms procurement program. The Prime Minister also said that the program included such features as robotics, intelligence systems, UAVs and precision ammunition. He noted that more than 200 types of weapons and equipment had been tested tested during deployment in extreme conditions.