The document outlines the U.S. policies in the sphere of nuclear deterrent for the next decade and includes an assessment of current and future nuclear threats to the country.

"The Nuclear Posture Review will be a foundational document for this administration... It's intended to be a practical work plan for the agenda laid out by President Barack Obama," Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.

Miller said that the document was originally scheduled to be released in March, but defense officials took additional time "needed to address the range of issues under consideration in the report."

U.S. President Barack Obama said last year that as long as a nuclear threat existed, the U.S. would retain its nuclear capability, although it would work to reduce its arsenal. He has also outlined his vision of the future nuclear-free world.

Miller said on Wednesday that the draft nuclear doctrine outlines concrete steps toward the achievement of these goals and lists measures aimed to increase the effectiveness and security of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
"It is essential that the U.S. continues to invest in its nuclear arsenal and infrastructure while pursuing a nuclear-free world. Guaranteeing the safety, security and effectiveness of our stockpile, coupled with broader research and development efforts, will allow us to pursue nuclear reductions without compromising our security," he said.

Miller also said that the document has been developed with regard to a new strategic arms reduction pact between the United States and Russia, which has been in the works since April last year.

"U.S. and Russian negotiators are now meeting in Geneva to complete an agreement that will reduce operationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons to their lowest levels in decades," the official said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to coordinate the final details of the replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), which expired in December last year, during her visit to Moscow on March 18-19.

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Construction of the Severodvinsk, a Project 885 Yasen (Graney) class submarine, began in 1993 at the Sevmash shipyard in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk but has since been dogged by financial setbacks.

"A floating out ceremony for Russia's new Severodvinsk nuclear submarine at the Sevmash shipyard has been scheduled for May 7," the official said.

Graney-class nuclear submarines combine the ability to launch a variety of long-range cruise missiles (up to 3,100 miles or 5,000 km) with nuclear warheads, and effectively engage submarines, surface warships and land-based targets.

The submarine's armament includes 24 cruise missiles, including the 3M51 Alfa SLCM, the SS-NX-26 Oniks SLCM or the SS-N-21 Granat/Sampson SLCM. It will also have eight torpedo launchers, as well as mines and anti-ship missiles such as SS-N-16 Stallion.

Severodvisk is expected to enter service with the Russian Navy by late 2010.

Last year, work started on the second sub in the series, the Kazan, which will feature more advanced equipment and weaponry.

Russia's Navy commander, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, has said that the construction of new-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile and attack submarines was a top priority for the Russian Navy.

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"An agreement on supplying an additional set of MiG-29K fighter jets has been signed, the start of supplies is scheduled for 2012," Mikhail Pogosyan said.

The deal was signed during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi.

Pogosyan said Russia should fulfill the previous contract on supplies of single-seat MiG-29K fighters to India by 2010.

Russia and India signed a contract stipulating the supply of 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUBs to India in January 2004. The contract is part of a $1.5 billion deal to deliver the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian navy.

India's first MiG-29Ks and MiG-29KUBs officially entered service earlier this year.

Analysts believe that India will remain the main purchaser of Russian-made combat aircraft for the next 15 years under existing and future contracts, as the country desperately needs to upgrade its fighter fleet, which includes Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighters, but mainly consists of obsolete Soviet MiG-21 models.

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The Russian war machine has not undergone such extensive restructuring in the past 150 years. New tables of organization were introduced in the army in early 2009. The four-tier troop-control system consisting of military districts, armies, divisions and regiments was replaced with a three-tier system consisting of tactical commands, brigades and battalions.

The reforms have established new army brigades while disbanding a large number of reserve units to be called up in the event of a full-scale mobilization. The army is being prepared to fight in local and regional conflicts of varying intensity, which are now considered the most likely form of military engagement for Russia.

President Medvedev said that there is still the potential for conflict near the Russian border. As an example Medvedev cited the rebuilding of the Georgian army following its defeat in the five-day war fought with Russia in August 2008.

As nuclear war is the only form of large-scale war imaginable under present circumstances, it is essential to preserve Russia's strategic nuclear forces.

The army reforms have not been painless. In 2009, only a few units received excellent marks, and serious problems remain with respect to military cohesion. Nevertheless, it is still too early to draw conclusions based on the results of the first year. In effect, this was the first combat-training season under the new regime, and it is very difficult to score excellent marks from the get-go.

The crisis has also affected military reform. Against the backdrop of a bad economy, Russian leaders were forced to scale back the role of contract soldiers and to draft more conscripts again. In light of Russia's demographic problem and the declining number of eligible conscripts, two-year military service may be reinstated in the near future, making it possible to call up fewer conscripts and to improve military-training standards.

The crisis has also affected the formation of a professional sergeant corps. Warrant officers who were to have been replaced with contract sergeants and sergeant majors continue to serve with the Army and the Navy.

Dmitry Medvedev has remarked on the even more serious problem of shortages of modern weapons in the Russian army. The Armed Forces have not received any new weapons systems in over 15 years. Consequently, their military equipment must be updated more quickly than in conditions of steady development.

"I have instructed the government to upgrade an average of 9-11% of the weapons and military equipment each year. This will increase the share of modern military equipment to 70% by 2020," Medvedev told ministry officials.

The number of government defense contracts must be increased considerably in order to accomplish this objective. The Armed Forces must receive an annual minimum of 35 ballistic missiles, 50 new and 50 upgraded warplanes, 20 to 25 military helicopters, 3-4 sea-going and ocean-going warships, 2 nuclear-powered submarines and 1 diesel-powered submarine, etc.

However, output is still lagging behind these targets. The defense industry has started to gradually increase production in order to equip the Army and strategic nuclear forces, but production of warplanes for the Air Force and ships and submarines for the Navy remain seriously behind schedule. Current procurement volumes will be able to replace no more than 50% of available Air Force and Navy equipment, which could seriously impair our national defense capabilities.

Top officials at the Ministry of Defense admit that there are not enough government defense contracts at present. In December 2009, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told Rossiiskaya Gazeta that the current volumes of government orders for military equipment are not final, and that they would continue to increase.

However, Serdyukov also admitted that it is unlikely that the Russian defense industry could accomplish this objective unless it were overhauled, the details of which are currently under discussion.

The Russian Armed Forces are now forced to buy foreign military equipment. There are plans to acquire two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships from France and to build two more at Russian shipyards under a French license. This deal aims to provide the Russian Navy with additional new ships and to overhaul the ship-building sector.

Top Russian political and military leaders are openly discussing the problems facing the national Armed Forces. This is a positive development, as it shows that they understand the problems. However, the extent to which they understand is still not clear, as the military reforms and the system for awarding government defense contracts remain highly classified.

The public, the media and the military itself often learn about changes only after they are well underway, making it extremely difficult to correct any missteps.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author, Ilya Kramnik, and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti or DefenceTalk.

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Adm. James G. Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he supported the idea of partnering with Russia as a way to enhance security against shared missile threats.

"First, it would create a zone of cooperation with Russia [from a military standpoint]; secondly, it could technically add to the early warning time because of the location of the system; and thirdly, it creates confidence-building measures between ourselves and the Russians," the admiral said.

Moscow has earlier offered the use of the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan and the Armavir radar station in Russia's Krasnodar Territory as alternatives to previous U.S. plans for a missile shield in Central Europe, but Washington has been reluctant so far to accept the proposal.

Stavridis called the new phased-in approach for European missile defense "timely and flexible," and said it will provide "capability that we can step up and be adaptive."

In his prepared statement for the Armed Services Committee the admiral also outlined NATO's view on overall military cooperation with Russia.

"Working with Russia is about balance and seeking to find the potential for cooperation, while maintaining an honest and open dialogue about all aspects of our relationship, including where we disagree," the statement said.

"We at European Command are ready to pursue military-to-military communication, engagement, and even training and operations with Russia where and when appropriate."

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New Delhi: Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the joint development of a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) in 2007. The cost of the $600-mln project is being equally shared by the two countries.

"We are at the initial stage of the project. Maybe in 6-8 years we shall have the prototype aircraft flying," Ashok Nayak said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.

The MTA project will be implemented by a Russian-Indian joint venture, co-founded by Russia's arms exporter Rosoboronexport and United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and India's HAL.

An agreement on the formation of the JV is expected to be signed during the current visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to India.

"A green flag has been shown at this point...the work will progress very fast for the formation of the joint venture," Nayak said, adding that all necessary documents had been agreed on by both sides.

Moscow and New Delhi will have an equal share in the development and production of the aircraft. The aircraft is expected to be assembled in both Russia and India.

"Initially we expect to produce about 205 aircraft of which 30% will go on the world market," the HAL chairman said.

The MTA will be most likely developed on the basis of the Il-214 twin-engine military transport aircraft designed by the Ilyushin Design Bureau.

The new aircraft will feature a takeoff weight of around 55 tons, flight range of 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) and a payload of up to 20 tons.

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Moscow and New Delhi are expected to sign a contract on the joint development of the new fighter in the near future, focusing on the design concept and technical requirements put forward by India.

"Currently, broad areas of work sharing have been identified. Composite materials, avionics, etc. could be some of the focus areas of HAL," Ashok Nayak said in an exclusive interview with RIA Novosti.

Nayak did not specify the cost of the project but said it would be split evenly between India and Russia.

The sides agreed to develop both a single-seat and a two-seat versions of the aircraft by 2016, focusing on the single-seat version in the initial stages of development.

"Both versions will be put in service with the Indian Air Force," Nayak said.

The HAL chairman said the Indian side had already specified technical requirements for the single-seat version and passed them on to Russian manufacturers.

"The general agreement is that we work on both sides - the Russians and the Indians will cooperate on both versions of the aircraft," he said.

The new aircraft will be most likely based on Russia's T-50 prototype fifth-generation fighter, which has already made two test flights and is expected to join the Russian Air Force in 2015.

Russia has been developing its fifth-generation fighter since the 1990s. The current prototype, known as the T-50, was designed by the Sukhoi design bureau and built at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia's Far East.

Russian officials have already hailed the fighter as "a unique warplane" that combines the capabilities of an air superiority fighter and attack aircraft.

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"The SMF are conducting command-and-staff drills on March 10-12 in line with the annual training program," Col. Vadim Koval said.

According to the official, the SMF will practice operations control in scenarios involving conventional and nuclear warfare under guidelines outlined by Russia's new military doctrine.

"A total of more than 2,000 servicemen and 150 theater- and tactical-level command-and-control centers take part in the drills," Koval said.

Russia plans to complete the modernization of the SMF's command-and-control systems by 2016 in order to improve their ability to overcome missile defenses and increase the survivability of delivery vehicles.

The SMF conducted a total of 11 large-scale exercises and two test launches of strategic missiles in 2009.

The Strategic Missile Forces reportedly have a total of 538 ICBMs, including 306 SS-25 Sickle missiles, 88 SS-18 Satan and 56 SS-27 Topol-M missiles.

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Russian and Italian media said on Tuesday that Russia was in negotiations to buy up to 1,000 IVECO M65 (LMV) Light Multirole Vehicles.

"The Defense Ministry has no plans to purchase foreign armored vehicles," ministry spokesman Col. Alexey Kuznetsov said.

The official said Russia had tested several models of foreign armored vehicles in 2009 to compare their performance and combat capabilities with domestic equivalents.

"We have sent our evaluation to Russian manufacturers," Kuznetsov said, without offering any further details.

Italian LMVs have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan and other NATO missions abroad, where they have performed admirably.

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"A Sineva missile was launched on March 4 at 7:50 am Moscow time (0450 GMT) from the Tula rocket-carrying submarine in the Barents Sea. The launch was successful," the agency said in a statement.

The Sineva is an intercontinental missile capable of carrying up to 10 nuclear warheads.

The missile, whose NATO reporting name is the SS-N-23 Skiff, has been in service with the Russian military since 2007.

The successful test-firing of the Sineva comes after a series of embarrassing failures of another submarine-launched missile that Russia is developing, the Bulava.

Russia has announced plans for a large-scale rearmament and renewal of its nuclear missile arsenal.

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