Russia should scrap half its 20,000 tanks, says top army man

Moscow - More than half of Russia's 20,000 tanks are in poor condition and should be scrapped, one of the coutry's top military commanders said in remarks published Friday. General Alexander Postnikov, in interview remarks to the Vedomosti newspaper, said the armed forces really needed fewer than 10,000 tanks.

Postnikov, who is head of the Russian army's land-based forces, said what the army really needed was modern tank technology and a new model which could compete with the best of foreign tracked vehicles.

For this year, the armed forces have ordered 261 modern tanks, a purchase also meant to shore up the financially-stricken tank manufacturer Uralwagonsavod. In the former Soviet era, the company had built some 1,200 tanks a year.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/311509,russia-should-scrap-half-its-20000-tanks-says-top-army-man.html.