Eight nuclear submarines, 600 jets and 1,000 helicopters feature in plans to renew Russia's military by 2020, priced at 19tn roubles.

俄罗斯计划耗费1900亿卢布，在2020年前增加8艘核潜艇、600架飞机和1000架直升机以扩充军事实力。

The Su-35 is among new jets due to be bought in
One hundred warships¹ are also due to be bought in, including two helicopter carriers, in addition to two already being purchased from France.

The submarines will carry the Bulava missile, despite recent test failures.

Analysts³ say the ambitious programme only makes sense if the military upgrades its training and recruitment.

A painful drive to streamline⁴ the armed forces is already under way, with up to 200,000 officers losing their jobs and nine out of every 10 army units disbanded（解散） , the Associated Press news agency notes.

If the renewal⁵ is a success, it will leave Russia less reliant（依赖的，可靠的） on the nuclear arsenal⁶ it inherited from the USSR.

"Russia needs a professional non-commissioned officer corps⁷ to train specialists who can really put these arms to effective use," Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent military analyst², told AP.

"This spending necessitates⁸（需要，迫使） a whole new kind of military."

Missile defence boost

Last week, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin announced that spending on defence development would triple from 0.5% of GDP to 1.5% from next year.

The defence spending was detailed⁹ in Moscow on Thursday by First Deputy Defence Minister Vladimir Popovkin.

"The main task is the modernisation of our armed forces," he said.

Much of the new spending will go on Russia's long under-funded navy. Apart from the submarines, 35 corvettes（轻巡洋舰） and 15 frigates¹⁰（护卫舰） will be ordered.

Russia has already ordered two French-built Mistral helicopter carriers, allowing it to rapidly deploy¹¹ hundreds of troops and dozens of armoured vehicles on foreign soil.

Ten divisions equipped with the new S-500 anti-missile system are set to become the backbone¹² of the country's missile defences.

New aircraft will include Su-34 and Su-35 fighters, and Mi-26 transport and Mi-8 gunship（武装直升机） helicopters, AP adds.

Repeated failures of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile（洲际弹道导弹） caused embarrassment¹³ for Russia, though two successful tests were reportedly conducted last year.