Russian Govt Enlarges 2009 War Industry Contract Portfolio

Tuesday, Dec 09, 2008

Russia's government has enlarged up its planned 2009 portfolio of contracts with the defense industry by 60 billion rubles, a deputy prime minister said in a television program on Saturday.

The projected portfolio was approved in mid-2008 but was enlarged ""after the events in South Ossetia and some other decisions both by the president and by the chairman of the government [prime minister] on the re-equipment of the armed forces,"" Sergei Ivanov told Russian television.

The increase ""will make it possible to allocate significant resources for our defense industry, and ultimately for the armed forces, for buying new modern types of armaments, including modernized Iskander tactical missiles,"" Ivanov said.

Russia has warned it will deploy Iskander missiles in its western exclave of Kaliningrad if the United States goes ahead with its plan to station missile defense elements in Eastern Europe.