Defense spending

Russia's Putin drafts new rearmament program

As part of an ongoing evaluation of Russian procurement priorities over the next decade, President Vladimir Putin has officially postponed the development of a new aircraft carrier and a new class of nuclear-powered destroyers for the Russian Navy. 

The decision to postpone these two flagship projects for the Russian Navy were reported by Russian daily Kommersant in mid-May, following a meeting between Putin and military leaders dedicated to drafting a rearmament agenda through 2025. The program will be a follow-on to a 19 trillion ruble (U.S. $337 billion) effort began in 2011, which ends in 2020. Despite the naval deferral, Russian rearmament will continue to focus heavily on strengthening its nuclear triad until at least 2025.