Russia Releases Details on Defense Spending through 2013

Russian has released new defense spending details. The State Duma Defense Committee has announced that the nation's defense spending, including research and development (R&D) spending, will total $16.3 billion (RUB487 billion) in 2010, $19.2 billion (RUB574 billion) in 2011, $24.3 billion (RUB726 billion) in 2012, and $38.8 billion (RUB1.16 trillion) in 2013.

While total defense spending will increase, the amount allocated for R&D will drop from the current 2010 level of 22 percent to 16 percent by 2013. The modernization of weaponry will instead receive a significant portion of total spending, with 13 percent designated for the 2010 fiscal year, 15 percent for 2011 and 2012, and 14 percent for 2013.

The top procurement priorities are the following:

RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles,
Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles,
Su-24 fighters,
Su-35 long-range fighters, and
Submarines, corvettes, frigates, and battlefield command-and-control systems.

In September, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that the government intends to spend RUB19 trillion ($613 billion) over the next decade to modernize the armed forces.

The current plan for 2010-2013 only represents a small portion (16%) of that amount, just over RUB2.9 trillion ($98.6 billion).