March 26,2008:
Russia will increase production of conventional weapons 30 percent over
the next two years, and expects to more than double it by 2015. Much of the
increase is for upgrading the Russian armed forces, which are still largely
equipped with Cold War era stuff. We are not talking large numbers here.
Currently, Russia produces a few hundred armored vehicles (including
self-propelled artillery), and about a hundred warplanes, a year. This is a
fifth of what was produced annually during the Cold War.