Russia to spend $700 bln on new weapons

President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will spend the equivalent of US$700 billion by 2020 to modernize the military's aging arsenals, but sternly warned arms industries from jacking up prices.

Medvedev said Friday the new plan would re-equipthe armed forces, which have mostly relied on Soviet-built weapons. He said the price for new armaments must not be too high.

Russian military officials have complained in recent years that the nation's arms makers are offering slightly remodeled designs dating back to the Soviet era at artificially high pices.

Analysts say the nation's military industries have been crippled by the post-Soviet industrial meltdown and continued to rely on outdated equipment and an aging work force.