Putin announces share of modern arms in the Russian army

The share of state-of-the-art weapons in the Russian army exceeds 71 ​​percent, whereas the share of modern arms in strategic nuclear forces is 89 percent, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Defense Ministry board, TASS reports. 

Such an increase became possible owing to the large-scale modernization of both the army and the navy. 

"The development of the newest types of weapons was conducted at an active pace, and some of them - the Avangard and the Kinzhal complexes - have already entered service," he added.

Earlier in December, Putin said that Russia was leaving the United States behind in terms of the development of modern weapons, as Russia was enhancing its existing capabilities and introducing new systems. At the same time, Putin stressed that Russia and the USA were maintaining parity in the number of nuclear carriers and the number of warheads.

In late November, the Russian president announced the appearance of new hypersonic weapons in Russia that would be capable of developing a maximum speed of Mach 9. 

“We have now tested it successfully, and from the beginning of the year we will have a new sea-based hypersonic missile in service. Mach 9. The flight time for those who give orders will also be five minutes,” he said.