In addition to writing for Aviation Week Network, Maxim holds a key position at Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine (www.ato.ru). In the past he was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications and earlier worked for the Moscow-based CAST defense think-tank.
Maxim has a degree on international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia, and for several years worked at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
As part of its general rearmament effort, Russia continues to enhance nuclear deterrence. Significant attention is being paid to sea- and land-based components of the nuclear triad. The growing defense budget (see p. 43) is enabling industry to make substantial progress in developing and fine-tuning strategic weapons.
Russia continues to increase its defense expenditures to modernize military capabilities. Money in the growing budget is being spent to reshape the national military, which is being transformed into a smaller but more effective and better-equipped force. The federal budget for 2012 and 2013-14, approved by the Duma in November, calls for further growth of defense expenditures despite a budget deficit. Expenditures could be up 20.9% to 1.85 trillion rubles ($59.8 billion) from 2011, and account for 14.6% of the budget versus 13.9% last year.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) has reported assembly of the first Il-476 flight prototype, a modernized version of the Ilyushin Il-76MD heavy transport aircraft. The prototype was shown publicly for the first time during the unofficial ceremony at the Aviastar-SP production facility in Ulyanovsk in mid-December. A UAC representative told Aviation Week that the official rollout ceremony will be in early 2012, while the first flight is expected in the spring.
