According to official data, Russia has at least 16 Tu-160 aircraft in service. There are plans to increase their number to 30.

“The Tu-160 in service with the Air Force are already undergoing modernization,” Air Force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said. “We are planning to receive more than 10 aircraft of this type.”

The Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-geometry heavy bomber, designed to strike strategic targets with nuclear and conventional weapons deep in continental theaters of operation.

The modernized version, Tu-160M, features new weaponry, improved electronics and avionics, which double its combat effectiveness.

The upgraded aircraft will remain in service until a fifth-generation strategic bomber is developed, the Air Force officials earlier said.

Russia will also modernize about 30 Tu-22M3 Backfire-C strategic bombers to a Tu-22M3M variant by 2020.

Russia and India signed a $1.6 billion contract on construction of three modified Krivak III class (also known as Talwar class) guided missile frigates for India in 2006. The first frigate, the Teg, was scheduled for delivery in April 2011, but funding shortfalls have delayed the work.

Two other Talwar class frigates, the Tarkash and the Trikand, are at various stages of construction and testing at the Yantar shipyard, and their delivery dates are unknown.

The new frigates are each armed with eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.

They are also equipped with a 100-mm gun, a Shtil surface-to-air missile system, two Kashtan air-defense gun/missile systems, two twin 533-mm torpedo launchers, and an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) helicopter.

Russia has previously built three Talwar class frigates for India - INS Talwar (Sword), INS Trishul (Trident), and INS Tabar (Axe).

The S-500, a long-range air defense missile system, is expected to become the backbone of a unified aerospace defense system being formed in Russia.

Neskorodov said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper on Monday that the complexity of technical solutions used in this unique system and some management problems led to the delay in the development.

“We have to step up the work and make up for lost time,” he said. “Nevertheless, we will have prototypes of several components of the system ready for testing by the end of 2012.”

Russian officials provide sketchy details on the technical characteristics of the new system.

The S-500 will reportedly have an extended range of up to 600 kilometers (over 370 miles) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets.

The Russian military has demanded that the system must be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles and plans to order at least ten S-500 battalions for the future Russian Aerospace Defense.

The S-500 could become a trump card in Russia’s response to the U.S.-backed European missile shield, which Moscow believes may threaten Russia’s nuclear deterrent.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has proposed setting up a government body responsible for consolidating efforts aimed at the creation of an effective aerospace defense network in the country.

“An Indian military delegation arrived on Monday in Ulan Ude [in Russia’s Far East] to discuss the preparation for INDRA-2012 military drills to be held this summer,” Lt. Col. Alexander Gordeyev said.

Russian and Indian military officials will reconnoiter the terrain at the training range where the drills will be held, the spokesman said.

Since 2003, India and Russia have conducted five of the INDRA series joint ground and naval exercises. The last such exercise was held between Russian and Indian army units in India in October 2010.

However, Russia cancelled both INDRA-series ground and naval exercises last year despite an earlier announcement by the Russian General Staff that INDRA drills may be held every year and involve three branches of the armed forces.

Relations between India and Russia have suffered in recent years from the delayed refit of the aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, and the poor sourcing of components for Russian-made equipment operated by the Indian armed forces.

India remains, though, a key buyer of Russian weaponry.

There is only one submarine, the Alrosa, a Kilo class vessel, currently in service with the Black Sea Fleet. The Alrosa joined the Russian Navy in 1990.

Russia is planning to add six Varshavyanka class (Project 636.3) submarines to the fleet. All six are in different stages of construction at the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg.

“We will receive the first three subs in 2014, one more – in 2015, and the last two – in 2016 to form a full-size submarine brigade in the Black Sea Fleet,” Fedotenkov said.

The vessels, crewed by 52 submariners, have an underwater speed of 20 knots, a cruising range of 400 miles (electric propulsion) with the ability to patrol for 45 days. They are armed with 18 torpedoes and eight surface-to-air missiles.

The improved Varshavyanka class submarines feature advanced “stealth” technology, extended combat range and ability to strike land, surface and underwater targets.

Fedotenkov also said that the Black Sea Fleet would receive Krivak IV class frigates during the same period.

The deal will be finalized on February 10, the source said, adding that 20 BMP-3 vehicles will be delivered before the end of the year.

The Russian army stopped purchasing the vehicles in 2010.

The state-run weapons exporter Rosoboronexport declined to comment.

The Kurganmashzavod arms plant said it would produce modified vehicles for Indonesia.

"We plan to upgrade about 30 strategic bombers to the M3M standard,” Drik said.

Tu-22M3 (NATO reporting name Backfire-C) is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic bomber that Russia uses mainly to patrol the skies over its southern borders, Central Asia and the Black Sea region.

The Tu-22M3 has a flight range of 6,800 km (4,300 miles) and can carry a 24,000 kg (52,910 lb) payload, including nuclear bombs and cruise missiles fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads. Aircraft of the M3M standard can be equipped with a wider range of weapons.

As of 2008, the Russian Air Force had at least 141 Tu-22M3 bombers in service.

Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, commander of Long Range Aviation, earlier said that Russia's strategic aviation fleet will undergo extensive modernization while Russia’s next generation strategic bomber, the PAK DA, is being developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau.

He said the modernized aircraft will be equipped with new equipment, communications systems, cockpits and avionics.

“The 30,000-pound [13,600 kilograms] "bunker-buster" bomb, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), was specifically designed to take out the hardened fortifications built by Iran and North Korea to cloak their nuclear programs,” the daily said.

But initial tests indicated that the bomb, as currently configured, would not be capable of destroying some of Iran's facilities, either because of their depth or because Tehran has added new fortifications to protect them, the paper noted.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, said more development work would be done and that he expected the bomb to be ready to take on the deepest bunkers soon. "We're still trying to develop them," Mr. Panetta said.

U.S. Officials say new money was meant to ensure the weapon would be more effective against the deepest bunkers, including Iran's Fordow enrichment plant facility.

Fordow is buried in a mountain complex in Iran surrounded by antiaircraft batteries, which makes it a very difficult target for air strikes.

In early January, Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) Fereidoon Abbasi said Frodow is safe from any kinds of threat by the enemies.

Tehran said it began the project in 2007, but the IAEA believes design work started in 2006.

The existence of the facility only came to light after it was identified by Western intelligence agencies in September 2009.

The new assault rifle, dubbed AK-12, is being designed as a basic platform for the development of nearly 20 different modifications of the weapon. It could be adapted for cartridges varying from 5.45x39 mm to 7.62x51 NATO.

The state tests of the rifle may begin at the end of 2012 despite the fact that the Russian Defense Ministry has not shown interest so far in the new weapon citing the financial difficulties of the Izhmash company and a huge surplus of AK-74 assault rifles (about 17 million) in the Armed Forces.

Izhmash said on Wednesday that the testing of the AK-12 will continue and the company will offer the rifle to foreign customers and Russian police.

Russia's Interior Ministry has reportedly ordered about a hundred AK-12s for testing by its personnel.

According to Izhmash designers, they “adapted the weapon to modern combat requirements, having preserved Kalashnikov's unique qualities - simplicity, reliability and relatively low production cost.”

The rifle features three firing modes: single shot, three-shot burst and automatic fire. The muzzle of the AK-12 has been designed to shoot foreign-standard barrel-mounted grenades.

The weapon is also equipped with Picatinny rails to mount optical, and night sights, grenade launchers, target indicators and other special equipment.

The AK-12 has a folding stock, and a height-adjustable heelpiece. The weapon can be used by both left-handed and right-handed people, and can be easily handled with one hand.

The development of the new family of sophisticated and effective assault rifles is a priority for the future of the company, which has been experiencing severe financial difficulties and even filed for bankruptcy.

The missile will be carried by MiG-31BM Foxhound supersonic interceptors/fighters and will subsequently be used by other warplanes, he said.

The weapon is “currently in trial at an Air Force test site,” Zelin said.

Zelin did not identify the missile but experts believe it could be the K-37M, also known as RVV-BD, or AA-X-13 Arrow as it is known to NATO.

The K-37M is a long-range air-to-air missile developed specifically for the MiG-31BM interceptor.

“A likely candidate is the Vympel (now part of TRV) K-37M long-range air-to-air missile. This is a successor to the R-33 (Nato codename AA-9 Amos) which was developed originally for the MiG-31 during the early 1970s,” said Douglas Barrie, an air warfare expert at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Work on the K-37 program began during the 1980s, but funding problems delayed its completion, he added. The design has also been further developed since its original conception.

The K-prefix denotes a weapon in development while the M indicates a modification. An export variant of the weapon, known as RVV-BD, was shown at MAKS 2011. The BD suffix may stand for the Russian words bolshoi dalnost, or long range.

“The K-37M - it will likely be known as the R-37M when it enters service - will be the primary air-to-air armament of the MiG-31BM, providing the Russian air force with an extended range interception capability against combat aircraft and cruise missiles,” Barrie said.