President Dmitri Medvedev (1965- )
President Dmitri Medvedev emphasised the vital need to continue the modernisation of the Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) to meet global threats. “During the 1990s, we, due to various reasons, both subjective and objective, spent peanuts on missile defence, and its development all but stalled”, Mr Medvedev said during a visit to a strategic missile division northwest of Moscow, his first working trip since he officially took office last week. “In recent years, however, we’ve been picking up here and earmarked 25 billion roubles (1.054 billion USD. 676 million euros. 539 million UK pounds) for this purpose in the near future”, the president added. Mr Medvedev said that within the next few years the government would allocate all necessary funding for the RVSN, which he said must be able to face the current level of threats in the contemporary global situation.
Currently, strategic missile forces are being reequipped. They are receiving new mobile Topol-M ICBM launchers. The rocket installed in this system achieves high speed faster than previous models. The design of the engines and control equipment guarantees a flight that is unpredictable to the enemy. The range of the rocket is 10,000 kilometres (6,213 miles). The rocket division the president visited is the first one equipped with this system. Mr Medvedev could monitor how the officers on duty control the launching of a rocket. Concerning the participation of the Topol-M missiles in the recent parade celebrating the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the president emphasised that it was not muscle-flexing, but, it was an expression of honour to the Russian armed forces and their traditions. The Russian nuclear missile force is one of the foremost factors in our military doctrine in containing aggressors, guaranteeing security and maintaining stability in international relations.
15 May 2008
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27074&cid=58&p=15.05.2008 (in English)
