Russian military drones inferior to foreign models

Moscow, June 4 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Unmanned air vehicles (UAV), ground-based robotic systems and unmanned submersibles being developed for the Russian defence ministry are inferior to foreign analogs, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

Military robotic systems are under development as part of the state weapons programme for 2011-2020, Shoigu said Monday.

But "by their performance characteristics, (robotic) systems created for the defence ministry's needs are inferior to their foreign analogs," he said.

"At the same time, domestically-made robotised systems are successfully used by our law-enforcement agencies," he said.

Shoigu also criticised defence enterprises for frequent delays in carrying out their work, which in turn affects the quality of robotic systems.

"This is due to the technological backwardness of enterprises, weak organisation of state contract fulfilment and a shortage of skilled personnel," he said.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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