MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's state defense order will increase by 20% to 303.7 bln rubles ($11.2 bln) in 2007, a government minister said Saturday.
"The state defense order is growing more that 20% in comparable prices," said Vladislav Putilin, who is also first deputy head of the newly created state defense committee.
The new committee, established by presidential decree in March 2006 and headed by Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, will make it easier to exercise effective control over the country's budget spending in the defense sphere.
The defense minister said in March that Russia's 2006 defense order would total $9 billion.
Putilin said spending on weapons procurement in 2007 would increase 22% year on year to 145 bln rubles ($5.35 bln), and on repairs of military equipment by 15.7% to 60 bln rubles ($2.2 bln).
He also said the government had successfully focused efforts in 2005 on priority areas of military procurement for Russia's armed forces.
"All procurement indicators have grown significantly and acquired a new quality," Putilin said.
The defense ministry adopted 146 new types of weaponry in 2005, including SS-26 Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and Uran anti-ship missile systems, Putilin said, adding that 409 prototypes of new weapons had passed preliminary testing.
"We have successfully developed the Bulava-30 [a naval variant of the Topol-M strategic ballistic missile] in a short time," Putilin said.
In 2005, the Russian armed forces received 30 new aircraft, 17 tanks and 91 armored personnel carriers.
