Here's a brief item from our news desk on Putin's announcement that he plans to bolster Russia's missile arsenal:
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the military will add more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to its arsenal this year capable of "penetrating" any current missile defense systems.
Putin said at the opening of the Army-2015 arms show in Alabino, west of Moscow, on June 16 that the ICBMs are part of Russia's "large-scale armament- and defense-industry modernization program."
He said the military is also getting several other new weapons, including Armata tanks and new armored vehicles, several of which were on display during the military parade in Moscow's Red Square last month marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Putin added that the military will soon test its new long-range early-warning radar intended to monitor the "western strategic zone."
He told conference participants that models of combat robots at Army-2015 would also play a key role in shaping the Russian armed forces in the future.
(Reuters, AP, and Interfax)