Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu: Tatarstan makes a great contribution to the strengthening of the national defence capability

On January 30, at the Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant, branch of Tupolev PJSC, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is on a working visit in Kazan, held a working meeting on the maintenance of weapons, military and special equipment of the Aerospace Forces. Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov took part in the meeting.

Shoigu noted that Tatarstan makes a great contribution to the strengthening of the national defence capability, plays an important role in equipping the Russian Armed Forces with the latest military equipment. The Minister reminded that by order of the President of Russia, the Kazan Aviation Plant resumed production of the upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber.

According to him, work to reproduce the Tu-160M ​​in a modernized design is carried out as scheduled. The first serial bomber, which has no analogues in the world, will be delivered to the Armed Forces in 2021.

Shoigu added that the regional enterprises are executing dozens of other major state contracts in the interests of the Armed Forces. “By investing considerable funds in the economy of the region, the Ministry of Defence contributes to its development, increase in the number of jobs and the standard of living of people. In their turn, senior officials of the republic are attentive to social problems of servicemen and their families. We expect that our cooperation will continue to be fruitful,” the Minister added.

Shoigu said that the improvement of the Aerospace Forces is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Defence. “The defence enterprises are executing state contracts for the repair and maintenance of weapons, military and special equipment to improve their quality. As a result, their serviceability in the Aerospace Forces meets the regulatory requirements,” the Minister concluded.

Speaking at the meeting, Tatarstan President emphasized that thanks to the support of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, large-scale reconstruction and technical re-equipment is underway at the Kazan Aviation Plant as a part of the Federal Target Programme. These activities are aimed at solving the task set by the country's leadership - the modernization of strategic aviation, Minnikhanov said. More than 33 billion roubles were allocated for these purposes, he continued.

The meeting discussed issues related to military transport, long-distance, special and training aviation as well as measures to maintain equipment of the Aerospace Forces at the required level.