Former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov, who is currently the special presidential representative for environment and transport, on Thursday said the country spent 10 to 20 billion rubles ($135.6-271.2 million) to develop its cutting-edge arms, confirming figures first unveiled in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2021) Former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov, who is currently the special presidential representative for environment and transport, on Thursday said the country spent 10 to 20 billion rubles ($135.6-271.2 million) to develop its cutting-edge arms, confirming figures first unveiled in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I will not hide it, I was involved at the inception of the development of those types of weapons that have recently entered service in the Russian armed forces, which were mentioned by the president [of Russia, Vladimir Putin] in a recent address: [the hypersonic missile system] Avangard and [the laser weapon] Peresvet and [the underwater drone] Poseidon, and many others. We spent ten years to [achieve it] without overexerting ourselves, without any fuss, without enormous financial effort, meaning [doing it] gradually, [and spending] 10-20 billion rubles a year," Ivanov said during an event organized by the Russian Military Historical Society in Moscow.
The official went on to describe that kind of spending as "almost unnoticeable" in light of the current military budget and stressed the lack of attention-seeking over the course of development.
