A separate branch dedicated to cyber warfare is being created in the Russian Armed Forces as the Internet could become a new “theater of war” in the near future, a senior Russian military R&D official said.
“Cyber space is becoming our priority…the decision to create a cyber-security command and a new branch of the armed forces has already been made,” said Andrei Grigoryev, the head of the recently-created Foundation for Advanced Military Research.
“We are working on the overall concept of the program to be developed in this area,” Grigoryev said in an interview with Echo Moskvy radio on Monday.
The Foundation for Advanced Military Research, similar in its purpose to America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), was set up in October last year to boost the development of advanced weaponry and help streamline the arms procurement process in Russia.
Grigoryev said his agency had singled out three main areas of military R&D – “futuristic weaponry,” “future soldier” gear and “cyber warfare.”
“We have reviewed 700 innovative projects so far,” he said, adding that the agency’s budget for 2013 is 2.3 billion rubles ($70 million).
