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MOSCOW: Russia is completing the mobilization of a regiment of Topol-M mobile missile systems and placing it on active duty, the defense minister said Monday.
“In the future, these complexes will constitute the foundation of the Strategic Missile Forces,” Sergei Ivanov said.
Ivanov said earlier Russia is planning to purchase 69 silo-based and mobile Topol-M ballistic missile systems in the next decade.
He said the defense ministry was also planning to procure 60 Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems to equip five missile brigades, 57 Sprut-SD self-propelled guns, 499 Rakushka airborne armored personnel carriers, and several Bereg mobile coastal artillery systems.
President Vladimir Putin said last month that developing the strategic forces is the main priority on the national defense agenda.
The president told a meeting with top military officials, “Maintaining a strategic balance will mean that our strategic deterrent forces should be able to guarantee the neutralization of any potential aggressor, no matter what modern weapons systems he possesses.”
He called for the creation of cutting-edge strategic weapons, and emphasized quality over quantity.
As of January 1, Russia possessed 927 nuclear delivery vehicles and 4,279 nuclear warheads for strategic offensive weapons, while the United States owns 1,255 and 5,966, respectively, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
