Russia Bolsters Military, Deploys Defense on NKorea | ||
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Russia’s top general said Wednesday that the military wants to buy a French helicopter carrier, has deployed advanced air defense systems on the border with North Korea and will press ahead in developing the beleaguered Bulava missile. Colonel General Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the General Staff, also said negotiations have resumed with the United States to set up a Moscow-based joint control center to track missile launches. In what would be a landmark deal, the military plans to buy a Mistral-class helicopter carrier — capable of carrying 16 helicopters, 40 tanks or up to 900 troops — and then jointly produce three or four additional carriers with France in Russian shipyards, Makarov said. “Before the year’s end, we plan to obtain contract agreements with a French company allowing the construction and purchase of this ship,” Makarov told reporters in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, where he was traveling with President Dmitry Medvedev. | ||
