President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will spend the equivalent of $700 billion by 2020 to modernise the military's ageing arsenals, but sternly warned arms industries from jacking up prices. Medvedev said Friday the new plan would re-equip the armed forces, which have mostly relied on Soviet-built weapons. He said the price for new armaments must not be too high.
Russian military officials have complained in recent years that the nation's arms makers are offering slightly remodelled designs dating back to the Soviet era at artificially high prices. Analysts say the nation's military industries have been crippled by the post-Soviet industrial meltdown and continued to rely on outdated equipment and an ageing work force.