Russia to develop 5th-generation bomber: Medvedev

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev Saturday said the country will develop a fifth-generation strategic bomber.

Speaking at a meeting on strategic aviation in the central Russian city of Kazan, Medvedev confirmed the government's plan of developing fifth-generation fighter and new strategic bomber.

Medvedev urged the Russian Armed Forces to be armed with "new technology" at no less than 30 percent in the next three years and up to 70 percent in another five years, the Kremlin press service reported.

The prime minister admitted the Air Force has lots of problems, saying the government was "trying to solve these problems."

The Russia Armed Forces obtained 15 new warplanes and a fourth-generation jet in 2011.

Local media earlier cited a Defense Ministry source saying Russia was not ready to build a strategic bomber of the new generation until at least 2025.

The source said the new bomber will be built using stealth technology, and the works would be conducted in the Tupolev (Tu) design bureau in Kazan, capital of Tatarstan Republic.

The first Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin said earlier that Russia was not going to speed up development of a new long-range bomber until at least 2015. Instead, air forces would modernize the existing fleet of strategic Tu-95MC and Tu-160 bombers until 2025 or 2030.