Russia's Long-Range Aviation (DA) is expected to receive a considerable portion of the extra defence funding that the Duma requested in response to the Iraq hostilities.
The Russian parliament asked the government to increase the defence budget to 3.5% of gross national product (GNP). The 2003 defence budget is 344.3 billion roubles ($11 billion), or 2.65% of GNP. Maintenance, research and development, and construction receives 37% of the total, while procurement receives 55.2 billion roubles.
The parliament demanded additional funds to "modernise the Russian armed forces and equip them with modern weaponry". Chairman of the Duma defence committee Gen Andrei Nikolaev says priorities are "strategic nuclear forces, space, reconnaissance, communications and control systems, weapons using new physical principles, anti-missile and anti-aircraft defence and the navy".
Nuclear forces are expected to get the bulk of extra funds, allowingRS-12M2 Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) production to increase from six to 10 missiles a year; and a life extension to 2016 for 150 RS-20 ICBMs. Decisions are expected this year on RS-18 and RS-22 ICBM life extensions.
DA's nuclear assets consist of 624 cruise missiles on 78 strategic bombers. DA commander GenIgor Khvorov says the "importance of the [Tupolev] Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic bombers carrying low-flying cruise missiles will increase" because of the US decision to field an anti-ballistic missile system, but DA is facing funding shortages. Last year bomber pilots averaged 25h flying time.
The bomber fleet has been given a non-nuclear role. Khvorov says DA has received "a new variant of the long-range cruise missile with conventional warhead", believed to be the Raduga X-555, which is viewed as a stop-gap ahead of theX-101's service entry.
Source: Flight International
