“We intend to buy only new, state-of-the-art equipment and not what was designed twenty or even thirty years ago. For this purpose, we made a full inventory of the military industrial complex and specified basic requirements for military production. Of course, we should draft our rearmament plans with regard to the current economic situation and our budget. So, the Ministry of Defence and other state clients of the rearmament programme were asked to prepare detailed calculations and justification for the amount of necessary budget spending for 2011 and the following years.”
“An analysis of the current trends shows that, along with high-precision weapons, aviation, anti-aircraft defence and reconnaissance systems, the world's leading countries are focusing on increasing the capabilities of each individual soldier. Forward-looking combat systems are being developed for infantry. Personal armour is being made more reliable, while small arms ammunition, sights, and detection and reconnaissance systems are becoming more sophisticated. All of this is crucial, especially in special operations, including counterterrorism. I would like to emphasise that our defence industry is currently capable of developing and manufacturing a full range of small arms and close combat weapons”.
"Our main objective must be the radical modernisation of defence production facilities. New Armed Forces are impossible without a new defence industry. We must do everything in our power to eliminate the dangerous disparity between the technological capacity of defence companies and the needs of the Armed Forces, increasing both production quality and volume."
“Fundamental changes are taking place in terms of our armed forces' equipment. During 2008-2009, long-term contracts were concluded for the supply of 130 warplanes. In the current year 2010, 27 aircraft, more than 50 helicopters and five battalions of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems will be purchased by the army. As you see, we are talking about high-volume supplies. Altogether, as laid down in the state armaments programme for the next 10 years, troops are to take delivery of over 1,500 new fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and something like 200 surface-to-air missile systems. As a result, no less than 80% of the air force's aviation equipment will be up-to-date and no less than 75% of its air defence systems will be new, which means a several-fold rise in our armed forces' combat capabilities.”
“The unification of systems currently used remains a pressing task. At the same time, further efforts should be made to improve their combat performance. Careful attention must be paid to the development and mass production of aircraft engines, and to improving the quality of structural materials and electronic chips.”
“The Armed Forces should be equipped with at least 30% modern weaponry by 2015 and at least 70% by 2020. To implement this task, we need to stipulate the relevant allocations. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development have completed calculations, and today we will analyse them. I would like to add that we will not permit excessive or inefficient spending.”
“In accordance with the plan for the development and reform of the Armed Forces, the focus will be on the nuclear deterrence forces and aerospace defence. As I have said, we should supply these forces with cutting-edge communications, control, command and reconnaissance systems, and also complete the fifth-generation aircraft programme and the provision of new warships for the Navy.”
“Trade in arms and special equipment is both a business and an important foreign policy tool. Our approach to trade is carefully weighed. All our work in this area fully meets the obligations Russia has assumed under international agreements. So we should continue our work in the same vein.”
“We increased our sales from $3.7 billion in 2000 to $8.6 billion last year. This means that by engaging in foreign economic trade we have preserved a large number of jobs and contributed considerable resources to the defence sector and, therefore, to its modernisation and development. Today we are cooperating with 85 countries round the world. I hope this is not all that our weapon makers are capable of. We are capable of moving further, to new and promising markets.”
"It is not by pure chance that we have made the development of command, communications and reconnaissance systems one of the priorities of our defence programme, with considerable budget appropriations planned for these purposes. I would like to stress that we need to modernise existing units and systems fundamentally. We must admit that they have become obsolete, with their technological and technical conditions often leaving much to be desired. This is why our short-term objective is to provide the armed forces with new-generation equipment, making a big step forward. I want you to be guided by this objective".
