REUTOV (Moscow Region), October 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian president said on Monday that the country's defense industry must ensure the effective modernization of the military and provide it with state-of-the-art weapons.
Dmitry Medvedev said "the restructuring of the Armed Forces should be complete in two months," adding that the next task was more challenging: "re-outfitting of the army and navy."
He stressed that the life of Russian soldiers depended "on the quality of the weapon systems, on the quality of the defense industry," and that the quality of its products was crucial for Russia's competitiveness on world arms markets.
He said that "by 2012, very serious progress must be made" in modernizing the Russian Armed Forces.
The president said there should be no difference in the quality of military goods manufactured for export or for domestic consumption.
He warned that although significant government funds were provided for defense, they must not be wasted.
"The most unpleasant thing is when money is spent on the 'modernization' of something that is obsolete or will become obsolete in the next few years. This is self-defeating," Medvedev said, stressing that priority should be given to superior, cutting-edge systems.
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