MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's defense minister provided a detailed picture of the future of the Russian armed forces Tuesday, including covering the development of its nuclear arsenal and further personnel cuts in its mammoth army.
"We have effective nuclear weapons, and we are not trying to increase their number but rather to improve their quality and effectiveness, to make them hard to intercept," Sergei Ivanov, who became Russia's first civilian defense minister five years ago today, told a news conference.
He added that Russia would always maintain its right to deliver preventive strikes against potential enemies in times of clear and present danger, but without the use of weapons of mass destruction.
The minister also said that the production of weaponry had increased manifold in the last five years, with 400 new weapons - 10 times the figure for 1996-2000 - adopted in 2005 alone.
Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister, said Russia produced all major types of weaponry, including spacecraft, missiles, aircraft, warships and submarines. He added that the armed forces would be equipped with Borey class nuclear submarines carrying Bulava strategic nuclear missiles, two of which will be commissioned in the next two years, and Topol-M mobile strategic missile systems.
At the same time, the Defense Ministry is planning to reduce in the next five years the number of military personnel in the armed forces, which currently stands at 1,134,000 men, by 35,000, he said.
He also said that 70% of military personnel would be switched to contract service by 2008 as part of a long-running effort to reduce the number of conscripts in the army, but went on to suggest that the top brass would not be immune to the downsizing.
"We should reduce the number of generals and admirals to maintain the ratio of one senior officer per thousand servicemen," Ivanov said.
The minister, who has recently been appointed chairman of a new commission overseeing the defense industry, also said spending on the development of the armed forces should constitute 50% of their financing by 2011, making up to 3% of the country's gross domestic product.
"At present, 60% of the defense ministry's budget is spent on maintaining the army, and only 40% goes on development," Ivanov said, adding that the 50-50 ratio would be most effective for the armed forces.
