MOSCOW — The Russian military has commissioned more than 1,000 new aircraft and thousands of tanks in the past few years in a massive modernization effort amid tensions with the West, the nation’s defense minister said Monday. Shoigu noted that the military received more than 1,000 warplanes and combat helicopters and over 3,700 tanks in 2012-2018. He added that the armed forces have received 109 ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and 108 submarine-launched ICBMs and formed 10 brigades armed with state-of-the-art short-range Iskander missiles. Such battalion tactical groups are the core tactical units, allowing the armed forces to quickly deploy to any area. He also noted that the armed forces have expanded their foothold in the Arctic, deploying 475 facilities there.

Source: Washington Post March 11, 2019 11:33 UTC