Russia will Invest Heavily in Aerospace

The following was reported in Russian newspaper, RIA Novosti, on Aug. 18:

Despite the current economic crisis, the Russian government has allocated about 80 billion rubles ($2.5 billion) in 2009 for the development of the aerospace industry.

According to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, "We are planning to continue investing heavily in these branches of the economy, to set up competitive enterprises capable of capturing their niches in the market, and to generate resources for the modernization of existing assets."