Russian Army Received 16 New Types of Weapon in 2002

Rumours that Russia is not ordering any new kinds of weaponry are not true, according to Lieutenant-General Vitaly Panov, the first vice-president of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Science. Panov was speaking today at a press conference as part of the 'Current Defence and Security Problems' conference. The general said that in terms of value for money, there were no weapons in the world to compare to Russian arms, and that Russian anti-aircraft systems were the best in the world.

Mikhail Silnikov, the head of the '21st Century Fighter' team, said that the Russian army was supplied with 16 new types of weapon - 'from serious systems to infantry rifles' - last year by producers of ordinary weapons. 'Recently the Russian Prime Minister signed an order on the adoption of three new kinds of pistol by the army,' said Silnikov.

'On average the Russian arms market is worth USD 4.5-5 billion. We are holding firm and plan to remain in second or third place in the world arms market,' Panov summed up.