The Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex should "as soon as possible increase the combat capabilities of the ground forces" and coordinate the work of the defense industry with the economy’s mobilization plans. This was stated by Vladimir Putin on Wednesday during a meeting on the state armament program project for 2027–2036, reports The Moscow Times.
Putin emphasized that the ground forces remain the "dominant force in conducting modern military operations" and require an increase in combat power.
“In April this year, we discussed how to increase supply volumes and improve the effectiveness of the use of weapons and equipment to solve the tasks of the special military operation. The measures planned then are being implemented, but these measures are essentially operational in nature. [...] Today, our task is to form a new long-term program covering the entire range of systems and types of weapons,” the Kremlin press service quoted the president as saying.
The new state armament program’s activities "must be clearly coordinated with the economy’s mobilization plans," Putin stressed.
He also called to “prepare in advance” the infrastructure for deploying new weapons systems, including bases, arsenals, and airfields.
“Special attention should be given to the nuclear triad, which has been and remains a guarantee of Russia’s sovereignty,” Putin said.
The previous state armament program cost the federal budget over 20 trillion rubles from 2012 to 2022 and was suspended in the first months of the invasion of Ukraine. According to that program, by 2020 the troops were to receive divisions of Armata tanks, a new bomber, 600 airplanes, and thousands of helicopters, with the share of modern weapons expected to rise to 70%. However, the Russian army entered Ukraine using old equipment, paper maps, and exhausted its supplies of precision-guided missiles within a few months.
Since then, Russia has significantly ramped up production at defense factories, which operate three shifts producing shells and bombs for the army fighting in Ukraine. The 2025 budget allocates a record 13.2 trillion rubles for army maintenance and weapons production. Military spending accounts for almost 30% of the budget — an unprecedented level since the Soviet era.
In total, from 2022 to 2025, government military expenditures have reached 35.5 trillion rubles, or approximately $440 billion at the current exchange rate.
