Russia to allocate $250b for defense in 3 yrs

MOSCOW - Russia would spend 7.7 trillion rubles ($250 billion) for national defense in the next three years, a high-ranking member of the State Duma said Wednesday.

By 2020 some $645 billion would be used to develop and procure modern weapons, said Vladimir Komoyedov, head of the Defense Committee of the State Duma.

"The huge fund should be effectively used for equipping the army and navy with the latest technology," he added.

Compared with this year's $61 billion, the planned national defense spending would reach $68 billion in 2013, $81 billion in 2014 and more than $100 billion?in 2015, he said.

Meanwhile, he added that Russia would spend over $935 million in 2013 for upgrading its nuclear arsenal, marking a 6-percent increase from this year.

Among the enormous efforts to modernize its potential, Russia plans to commission eight fourth-generation strategic nuclear submarines by 2020, which are expected to carry the newest Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly urged the Russian military to increase the country's defense capability amid the "growing use of force in international affairs".