Russia will produce six submarines and one aircraft carrier annually starting 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Thursday. "By 2013, production capacity [at Russian shipyards] will allow us to build six submarines and an aircraft carrier every year," Rogozin told reporters, adding that the number includes both nuclear and diesel-powered submarines.

As a result, the production output will surpass that of the Soviet era when Russia built an average of five submarines annually, he said.

Rogozin earlier said the production had been bogged down in the past by a lack of financing, outdated equipment and a shortage of skilled labour.

Russia is planning to build eight Borey class strategic submarines and up to 10 Graney class attack subs by 2020.

related report
Russian Navy working on 30-year development plan
Moscow, Feb 6 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia will develop by June this year a detailed 30-year plan to strengthen its naval forces, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin wrote in his twitter account.

"A detailed 30-year plan of strengthening its naval forces will be developed by June 2012. The decision has already been made," Rogozin wrote Sunday.

The state military programme for 2012-20 has allocated 4.7 trillion rubles ($155 billion). Last year, 85 billion rubles ($2.8 billion) was allocated on the construction of nuclear submarines, frigates, ship repair and maintenance. This year it expected to spend more than 93 billion rubles ($3 billion).

It is planned that in the future the submarine fleet will become the basis of Russia's naval force.

Over the next few years it will receive two types of nuclear submarines and two types of diesel-electric submarines. This is primarily a Borey-class nuclear submarine, the carrier of the new Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. Eight of these submarines are planned to be built.

Russia's newest nuclear-powered submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, is already undergoing sea trials; three more are in various stages of their completion.

related report
Russia may boost nuclear potential: Minister
Moscow, Feb 6 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia may have to boost its nuclear potential in the future amid emerging nuclear proliferation threats, Anatoly Antonov, Russia's deputy defence minister and a negotiator on the European missile shield, said Monday.

"New challenges emerge, including missile and nuclear proliferation. Look at how unstable the situation in the Middle East is. That's why Russia's military doctrine envisages the use of nuclear weapons in specific cases. I do not rule out that under certain circumstances we will have to boost, not cut, our nuclear arsenal," Antonov said in an interview with the Kommersant daily.

He named the US missile shield in Europe as a main threat to Russia's security.

"The situation is dismal in this area. The US continues to boost its missile defence potential in Europe and other regions. The European segment of the US missile defence demonstrates aspirations to shift the strategic balance of forces in Europe. After the Cold War, US strategic weapons - and missile defence is a strategic weapon - are getting closer to Russia's borders," Antonov said.

He also confirmed that Russian and US missile defence talks have reached deadlock as US cooperation proposals are vague and Russia's participation in the project "is not even up for discussion".

The deputy defence minister reiterated that Russia may quit the Russian-US treaty on strategic arms reduction, signed in 2010.

"This is one of possible variants of our retaliation measures. We have warned about it beforehand," he said.

Source: Indo Asian News Service