Russia will start building six submarines and one aircraft carrier annually starting next year, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
"By 2013, production capacity [at Russian shipyards] will allow us to build six submarines and an aircraft carrier every year," Rogozin told reporters at Severodvinsk in northern Russia on Thursday. The number will include both nuclear and diesel-powered submarines, he added.
The feverish building activity will surpass that of the Soviet era when Russia built an average of five submarines annually, Rogozin was quoted as saying by State-run media.
He had said earlier that production had been bogged down in the past by lack of financing, outdated equipment and a shortage for skilled labor.
Russia is planning to build eight Borey class strategic submarines and up to ten Graney class attack subs by 2020.
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