Fifteen warships, boats to be added to Russian Navy this year - Putin
ST. PETERSBURG. July 28 (Interfax) - The Russian Navy will receive 15 new ships this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"This year alone, 15 ships and gunboats will be added to the inventories of the Russian Navy," Putin said, when speaking at the Main Navy Parade in St. Petersburg on the Russian Navy Day.
"The naval aviation and coastal defense troops are being rearmed and the infrastructure opf naval bases upgraded. The practice of circumnavigational voyages has been restored," Putin said.
"Our Navy strongly ensures the country's security, national interest and is capable of responding robustly to any aggressor," he said.
"Unique weapons guarantee this, but the most important thing here is the courage and operating proficiency of Navy crews," he added.
Putin went on to praise the large contribution made by the Navy to the development of Russian science. "And today, [the Navy] is among the first to master sophisticated machinery. It effectively uses and develops forward-looking engineering and designing solutions that have no analogues anywhere else in the world," Putin said.