Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Navy is tops in Russia's nuke force

This is uplifting…

MOSCOW, March 19 (UPI) -- President Vladimir Putin is boosting Russia's nuclear missile subs to dominate its strategic forces, the Navy's commander said.

"The naval component in the Russian strategic forces may exceed 50 percent, Fleet Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, told the new issue of the weekly journal Voyenno-Promyshklenny Kuryer, the Military Industrial Courier.

Kuryadov told the newspaper modernizing and replacing the huge missile carrying submarines capable of destroying scores of American or European cities was the main goal of Russia's strategic planners.

"This component has the top priority in Russia's strategic nuclear triad," he said.
There are plans to replace the current nuclear subs with "more perfect fourth generation submarines, Kuroyedov said.

Like the United States, Russia for decades has maintained forces of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be launched from nuclear submarines, aircraft or from hardened ground silos or mobile launching platforms.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040319-122901-7929r.htm