MINSK, 30 October (BelTA) – Belarusian military organizations should concentrate on the local manufacture of military products, modernization and repair of existing resources, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the operational meeting of the command staff of the Armed Forces on 30 October, BelTA has learned.
“It is unclear why we, for example, buy bulletproof vests in Russia if we can make them here,” the head of state remarked.
Alexander Lukashenko added that there is information about the plans to import unmanned aerial vehicles and armored vehicles. “There is a simple question: what for do we need it?” Don't we have necessary equipment? Upgrade it. We cannot waste money. We must use the resources wisely,” the President stressed.
“Perhaps, the quality of our defense sector products is lower than the quality of global brands. Besides, the cost of these products is slightly higher than that of foreign analogues. Therefore, we need to join efforts to raise the quality of our products, including when it is used in the army. All military products produced in Belarus should be immediately tested by the army,” the head of state believes.
Alexander Lukashenko noted that in spite of objective difficulties the army is supplied with new armament. These efforts will be continued taking into account the country's financial ability.
Speaking about the performance of the Defense Ministry in general, the President pointed out a normal dynamics of the Armed Forces' development. Operations held as part of the Belarusian-Russian army exercises Union Shield 2015 and Combat Commonwealth 2015 were a success, the CSTO exercise of special operations units in Tajikistan and the exercise of the peacekeeping units in Armenia were a success, too. Besides, inspections of combat readiness of the Armed Forces showed that the troops and units are ready to execute all missions. “It is a main factor for the military sector and it should remain a priority,” the head of state stressed.
