YEKATERINBURG (Sputnik) — The Russian Defense Ministry is in need of a wide range of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said Thursday.
"The need in various types of the unmanned aerial vehicles is enormous. A huge step has been taken in this regard in the last three years — Russian army had multiplied the number of UAVs it operates. This niche will be attractive for the industry for a long time," Borisov said, while visiting Ural Works of Civil Aviation.
10 February 2016, 13:23 GMT
He added that the ministry could spent significant sums of money on the development of different types of the UAVs, including the tactical, strategic and attack drones.
According to Borisov, the ministry's need can be explained by the fact that no modern military conflict goes without the usage of the UAVs.
Russia is currently implementing a large-scale rearmament program, announced in 2010, to modernize 70 percent of its military hardware by 2020. The total modernization program cost is estimated to reach about 20 trillion rubles (some $291 billion at the current exchange rates).
