While the Chinese are testing the latest aircraft and the British releasing stealth tanks from the assembly line, Russia is pursuing a massive military reform. Recently, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised trillions of trillions to modernize the army, but this "terrible" money, according to him, will have a tangible effect no earlier than 2015. However, experts believe that there is no reason for panic, because as a result, the Russian armed forces will become the strongest in the world and will be able to win any military confrontation in a maximum of two weeks.
Vladimir Putin's December trip to Severodvinsk and his announcement that Russia will spend over 20 trillion rubles on armaments by 2020 was certainly encouraging. Indeed, according to the prime minister, by 2015, thanks to the new state program, the share of modern weapons in the army will increase by a third, and by 2020 it will be 70 percent. As for the fleet, about 4.7 trillion rubles will be allocated for its development. "It is necessary to pay special attention to the creation of a grouping of naval strategic nuclear forces from fourth-generation nuclear submarines, the purchase of modern surface ships, the repair and modernization of existing equipment, as well as the renewal and strengthening of the material and technical base," Vladimir Putin said.
In the ranks of experts, however, there was no particular optimism about the announced figures. On the one hand, the army has long been in need of reform, but given the corruption and the deplorable state of the domestic military-industrial complex, not everyone believed in the success of such global transformations. As some experts say, all three rearmament programs that were outlined earlier have failed, so there is no need to cherish any special illusions that the number "four" will turn out to be happy.
But there are also those who believe that things will go well in the Russian army in the near future. Among them is Ruslan Pukhov, a member of the public council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, head of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST). According to him, after the reform, the country's armed forces will be able to win any military conflict in a maximum of two weeks. "At present, the Russian army is in second place after the United States in terms of military potential, taking into account nuclear weapons and third place after the United States and China, excluding nuclear weapons," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. The expert believes that the first stage of reforming the Russian army has already been completed, and from the beginning of this year a new period of reorganization begins. “It will consist in transferring to a new structure of the Ground Forces, reforming the Air Force and transitioning to a new look for the Navy,” Pukhov noted, adding that the results of all military reform in Russia could be summed up in that very 2015 year.
Without going into a discussion of the prospects, with one hundred percent certainty one can state only one thing - Russia really does have potential. The same export of practically all weapons and multi-million dollar contracts is an important indicator. Yes, the military-industrial complex is experiencing certain difficulties, but, you see, Russia was and remains the country that has always amazed the world with new products. No matter what fighters China is testing, no matter how the UK boasts of its stealth tanks, we already have all these developments. All that remains is to equip your own army with what goes to partners. By the way, President Dmitry Medvedev spoke about this back in November. The Russian leader then stressed that some budget programs are even being cut in order to re-equip. And he added that the military is not a closed corporation.
Control over expenses is another important issue of concern to the authorities, the expert community, and the media. It is not without reason that a special unit, the financial inspection, was created in the RF Ministry of Defense in April last year to fight corruption. In Severodvinsk, Vladimir Putin explained to those who were especially dull - now the pace of deliveries of new weapons will also be controlled. And this, in turn, means that the military department in the future will give state orders only to those defense companies that have already modernized production and are able to fulfill the assigned tasks. Accordingly, the money will go to the enterprises after its re-equipment, and not before.
It is difficult to say now whether the rearmament will proceed according to the plan of Putin and Medvedev. There are problems, but, perhaps, falling into depression is not the best way out. In the end, there is time, and most importantly, serious funds to get rid of negligent officials and put in order the military factories.
