Russia says bombers not flying with nuclear weapons

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) Russian bombers which this month resumed their Soviet-era practice of flying long-range patrols near NATO airspace are not carrying nuclear weapons, a senior air force commander said today.

President Vladimir Putin's announcement that patrols would resume was seen by observers as part of a military build-up which the Kremlin says is needed to ensure national security.

''These flights are being carried out without nuclear weapons on board,'' the commander of Russia's long-range aviation, Pavel Androsov, told reporters at the defence ministry.

The resumption of the long-range patrols, recent tests of a new generation of intercontinental missiles and the resumption of large-scale exercises have taken place against the backdrop of new strains in ties between Russia and the West.

The Kremlin, which accuses Washington of ''unilateralism'', opposes US plans to set up new bases and deploy elements of its missile defence shield in central and eastern Europe.

Russia suspects this move and NATO's overtures towards former Soviet Georgia and Ukraine -- viewed by Moscow as part of its traditional sphere of influence -- will lead to Russia's military encirclement.

Androsov said Western alarm over the resumption of the long-range patrols had been fanned artificially.

''We have been flying, are flying and will continue to fly,'' he said. ''Our colleagues are not sitting on their laurels -- if you look at the pilots of the strategic aviation of America and Great Britain -- they have also not been sitting in their airbases, they are flying very intensively.'' The resumption of the patrols is likely to play well with the Russian public as the country prepares for a presidential election next March in which Putin's successor will be elected.

Putin, Russia's most popular politician, has made the revival of the armed forces part of a mission to boost Russia after years of post-Soviet chaos.

During his nearly eight-year rule, the armed forces have shrunk in numbers from 1.7 to 1.2 million, but their budget has been growing at a pace of up to 30 per cent a year.

Analysts say, however, that Russia spends a fraction of what the United States spends on defence.

Androsov declined to say how many bombers Russia has but said Moscow had parity with the United States.

''We constantly observe our friends and we hold a force at about the same level as them,'' he said.

Russia has 79 strategic bombers in service including 64 Tupolev-95MC, known as Bears by NATO pilots, and 15 Tupolev-160, known as blackjacks by NATO, according to Russian media.

''There is deep modernisation (of the bomber fleet) going on,'' Androsov said. ''We are working on a new generation (of bombers), I don't even know what it will be called.'' REUTERS RAR HS1840

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