“The allocated funds of 19 trillion is the minimum amount that is now needed to ensure the maintenance of the Armed Forces at a level so that they are capable of solving at least a limited range of tasks to ensure Russia's military security. Because the processes in the Armed Forces, as a result of their economic strangulation, have entered the phase when the preservation of the previous volumes of financing of the RVS will lead to their collapse, simply to their disappearance, the vice-president of the Academy of Geopolitical problems, Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov, commenting on the plans of the Ministry of Defense for the rearmament of the Russian army.
The Ministry of Defense has begun implementing the state armaments program for 2011-2020, Lenta.ru reports. Considerable expenses lie ahead - the military department will receive 19 trillion rubles for the implementation of all its ambitions. The purchase plans include surface and submarine ships, helicopters, airplanes, anti-aircraft missile systems and new ballistic missiles. Two trillion rubles will be spent on research and development.
Until now, the Russian Ministry of Defense has existed within the framework of the state armaments program for 2006-2015, which was adopted about five years ago. It was planned to allocate about five trillion rubles for its financing. This state program was failed, as it turned out, due to incorrect allocation of funding - it was assumed that the Russian military would receive most of the funds in the second five-year plan. Thus, many plans were not implemented.
In particular, it was expected that five brigades of Iskander tactical missile systems, 116 new combat aircraft, 156 various helicopters, 18 divisions of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, 24 surface ships of various classes, seven Project 955 nuclear submarines were expected to enter service. Borey and six more non-strategic submarines. However, in reality, the Russian military has so far received one Iskander brigade, 22 combat aircraft, 60 helicopters, four S-400 divisions, two surface ships, one strategic nuclear submarine and not a single non-strategic submarine.
The main financing of the state armaments program for 2011-2020 is also planned for the second five-year plan. However, it is argued that the military department took into account the experience of the previous state program and reasonably approached the distribution of funding. The new state program implies the creation of a new liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile, which should replace the outdated RS-20 and RS-18. The military department ordered the development of a missile capable of carrying up to ten warheads of individual guidance and breaking through any existing and future missile defense systems. The development of the rocket is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. In addition, the state armaments program also provides for the development of new high-precision weapons. For the purchase of new weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry intends to spend 80 percent of the amount allocated by the state program and ten percent on the modernization of existing military equipment. At the same time, the main emphasis will be placed on armaments and military equipment of Russian design, and the military will resort to purchases abroad only if the products of companies from Russia do not meet their requirements.
The ultimate goal of implementing the new state armaments program is to increase the share of new equipment adopted by Russia to 70-80 percent from the current ten. At the same time, some types of troops, such as the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Russian Air Force, will be technically upgraded by one hundred percent. By 2020, Russia plans to create its own equipment for the "soldier of the future". One of such developments - "Fighter 21", in which it is planned to use elements of the exoskeleton. The equipment will include a bulletproof vest, a helmet, a communications system and modern weapons.
“If all conceived plans are implemented, then in the next ten years the most large-scale rearmament of the last decades will be carried out, especially compared to the 1990s, when the troops practically did not receive new equipment,” concludes Lenta.ru.
“Unfortunately, the allocated funds are not always used for their intended purpose. A significant part of the funds will go to the so-called outsourcing. The essence of this phenomenon, if we discard the beautiful liberal words, boils down to one thing: private firms stick to the military budget and pump money into their insatiable pocket. The orders that all these private firms will take were previously excellently carried out by the state services of the country, and this did not in any way affect the combat readiness of the troops. Throughout the entire period of the existence of the USSR, there was no talk of any outsourcing. Our army was absolutely combat-ready and ensured victories in all wars, including the Afghan one. If there had not been Gorbachev's betrayal, we would have ensured the maintenance of the regime there that would ensure the interests of the Soviet Union. Without any outsourcing, we also ensured victory in three modern wars: two in Chechnya and the war with Georgia. Moreover, in the latter case, they defeated the Georgian troops, trained by American instructors, according to American clichés and equipped with the latest communications and weapons, in three days,”K. Sivkov noted in his comment.
“The allocated money would be quite enough to start the process of re-equipment and revival of the Russian defense industry,” the military expert continued. “However, instead, the allocated funds will go to the development of the foreign military industry. Namely, French, by purchasing Mistral ships, Italian, by purchasing Iveco armored vehicles and others, by purchasing small arms and drones. The purchase of foreign weapons leads to disorganization and, in the long term, to the degradation of the armament system of the Russian forces. Since the armament of the army turns out to be technologically tied to foreign manufacturers of weapons, this means that the Russian defense capability will be dependent on the positions and views of foreign states - France, Italy and others. They will be able to dictate their political will to us in the defense sphere. This is what gentlemen reformers are doing."
“This money, if it is used for its intended purpose, could ensure the revival of our defense industry, because this is a large amount, which would be enough to re-equip the Armed Forces by at least 30-40% with modern weapons and equipment of domestic production. And the need for these costs is determined by the fact that the world is steadily heading towards a world war. The events taking place in the Arab world are only the beginning of the chaos that will develop in the world. This chaos is caused, in part, by objective circumstances, in part, by the activities of political elites through their special services, which benefit from this chaos. And here, of course, the United States should be singled out first. This is due to the fact that the global economic crisis has not ended, and it can only be resolved by building a new world order. And there has never been a case in history that the new world order was built bloodlessly. Events in North Africa and other countries are the prologue, the first sounds of the coming world war,”concluded Konstantin Sivkov.
