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Russian president Putin holds third meeting on military build

Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired the third meeting on the development of the armed forces. "The effectiveness of the Navy and the armed forces, in general, depends on timely information obtained from spacecraft and reliable operation of navigational and communication systems, integration of all information resources, capabilities of artificial intelligence on the battlefield. We shall consider the complicated issues which are closed for the public," the president said.

Putin said that Russia opposes the militarization of outer space (Picture source: Fulvio314/Wikimedia Commons)

"The United States sees space as a theater of war, which requires greater attention to strengthening Russia’s orbital group of satellites," Putin said. The world’s leading countries fast-track the development of modern space systems of military and dual-use and complement and expand technical parameters. The US military-political leadership openly regards outer space as a theater of military operations," Putin warned. "For preserving strategic supremacy in this field the United States is accelerating the creation of its space forces, which are already in the process of operative preparations."

Putin said that Russia opposes the militarization of outer space. "At the same time the march of events requires greater attention to strengthening the orbital group and the space rocket and missile industry in general," he said. Putin recalled that in recent years Russia had considerably upgraded its group of military and dual-purpose satellites. The capabilities of the space missile attack warning system have grown considerably. "The satellites of the unified space system promptly detect the launches of ballistic missiles from military bases and the world ocean, promptly provide information to the country’s leadership and the Armed Forces’ command centers," Putin said. "The effectiveness of this crucial component of the air and space defense has been confirmed in the process of the strategic command staff exercise Grom-2019." A high-speed telecommunication system deployed in a geostationary orbit has been finalized this year, he added.

Putin stated that the authorities were keen to build up a major portfolio of new ideas and cutting-edge products for the future. Defense industries have been working on many such systems and manufacturers were mastering the production of corresponding space satellites made of domestically manufactured parts and components. "Last May we held a special conference to scrutinize the condition and prospects of the space component of the Aerospace Forces. The corresponding instructions were given. Today I would like to hear what is being done to implement them," Putin said.

Electronic warfare is another important issue. Russia should upgrade it on the basis of the Syrian experience. "Such systems must be upgraded further on. The same applies to the IT systems that ensure the effective use of troops. The experience obtained in the process of military exercises and combat engagement of electronic warfare should be employed to the maximum extent. Such equipment has been used widely in Syria," Putin said.