Russia’s Spending on Modern Weapons over the Past Decade

About 10-20 billion rubles (US$134-268 million) a year have been spent over the past 10 years on the development of modern Russian weapons - the Avangard hypersonic complex, the Peresvet laser complex, and Poseidon underwater vehicles. This was reported by TASS citing the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for environmental protection, the previous Minister of Defence (2001-2007) Sergey Ivanov.

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“I will not hide, I was involved at the beginning of the development of those modern weapons that have now appeared in the arsenal of the Russian army, which the President spoke about recently in his message - Avangard, Peresvet, Poseidon, and much more. It took 10 years to [develop them] efficiently, without strain, and without huge financial resources, that is gradually about 10-20 billion rubles a year,” he said, speaking at a presentation organised by the Russian military-historical society.

Ivanov also noted that with the current budget of the armed forces, these were "almost imperceptible expenses." “But we did it without straining. Without unnecessary propaganda noise. When they were done, they announced it. They didn't make much noise,” he said.

The Avangard combat unit is capable of flying in dense layers of the atmosphere at a hypersonic speed of up to 27 M (about 32 thousand km / h), maneuvering along the course and altitude, and overcoming any anti-missile defence. The first missile regiment, armed with a complex with hypersonic gliding winged units "Avangard", took up combat duty in the Yasnensky formation in the Orenburg region at the end of 2019.

The Poseidon submarine can be equipped with both conventional and nuclear warheads and is capable of destroying enemy infrastructure, aircraft carrier groups, etc. According to the Ministry of Defence, Poseidon submarines, together with carrier submarines, are included in the so-called oceanic multipurpose system. The drones will receive high speed and unlimited cruising range, the working depth of immersion is more than 1 km.

The Peresvet laser complex is the first Russian combat complex based on new physical principles. Details about this system are classified. Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the Avangard, Peresvet, and Poseidon complexes for the first time, in March 2018.

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