At the beginning of the meeting, which took place at the Russian Armed Forces Situation Centre, Sergei Shoigu spoke about an unscheduled inspection of Aerospace Defence Troops, Long Range and Military Transport Aviation Troops, and well as Air Force and Air Defence units of the Western Military District.
According to the Defence Minister, the inspection showed that the Aerospace Troops and Air Force units are well prepared to repel an attack of the enemy’s aerospace force. “The final results will be summarised later, but we can say that in general, our aerospace and air forces are capable of carrying out their tasks,” Mr Shoigu said.
The meeting also focused on the development of the robotic military systems. According to Mr Shoigu, work in this area is being carried out in accordance with the State Armament Programme for 2011-2020. As part of the programme, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotic surface systems and unmanned submersibles are being developed. However, the Minister said, work deadlines are often missed and the quality of the manufactured products is not satisfactory. This is caused by outdated equipment at factories, poor management of the implementation of state contracts and a lack of qualified personnel. “I hope that during this meeting, we will outline the main problems that exist for the development of Russian military robotics, and we will be able to find solutions for them,” the Minister stressed.
Participants also discussed the level of physical fitness in the Armed Forces. Despite the fact that substantial efforts have been made in this area, the Minister believes that the fitness level is still not high enough. “The reasons for this are clear. First of all, it has to do with the unsatisfactory physical fitness of the conscripts and the outdated sports infrastructure.” As Mr Shoigu said, measures should be developed to upgrade the physical training system for service members to provide for the necessary physical condition of soldiers during military and other tasks.
The agenda also included the current state of the Kirov Military Medical Academy and the development of military cantonments.
Source: Ministry of Defence
