Page 22 - 2018 Defense White Paper

command” 15) and reorganized its military command structure to jointly command its ground,

maritime, and air self-defense forces. The intent is to allow the Chief of the Joint Staf f to focus
on unit employment and his advisory role to the Prime Minister in case of contingency.

| Russia | Russia has strived to build defense capabilities that enable active response to internal
and external threats. To do so, it has implemented bold defense reforms including structure and
organization reform of the Russian Armed Forces, salary increases for servicemembers, and

the improvement of military housing. Russia had modernized 59% of its combat equipment
by 2017 as per its force buildup ef forts and strengthened its nuclear deterrence capabilities by
creating and expanding strategic units including the Yars ICBM regiment. Russia is planning

to invest about USD 34 billion over the course of 8 years from 2018 for the modernization
of its weapons system. The Russian Armed Forces is actively responding to existing regional
threats by conducting exercises tailored to each military district in vast and diverse operational
environments.

The Russian Ground Forces has enhanced its joint operations capabilities through realistic
exercises that vary by military district. In 2017, the Western Military District conducted the

Zapad-2017 exercise to prepare for threats from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
in the border area. Some 13,000 troops participated in the military exercise, which also involved
Russia’s major strategic weapon systems including the Sarmat ICBM and Armata tanks.
In 2018, the Russian Navy built three Borei-class strategic nuclear submarines and is continuing

to strengthen its nuclear deterrence capabilities. The Russian Navy enhanced its combined
maritime operations capabilities through a routine combined training with China in 2017 and
continues to bolster its military capabilities to respond to regional strategic competition.

The Russian Aerospace Forces has been developing the MiG-35 multi-role f ighter and the SU-
57 stealth f ighter under the goal to deploy them by 2018. Meanwhile, the TU-160 long-range
strategic bomber upgrade project is expected to bolster the forces’ nuclear deterrence capabilities

The Strategic Missile Troops successfully f ired the Topol-M strategic nuclear missile in 2017,
and three nuclear powered Yars ICBM regiments have been f ielded.

15) The creation of the unified command that controls the JGSDF, JMSDF, and JASDF is written in the National
Defense Program Guidelines and the Mid-Term Defense Plan, the basic guidelines for the reorganization of
Japan’s defense capabilities that were revised in December 2018.

20 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment