Russian air forces to receive over 100 new warplanes in 2013

The Russian Air Force would receive more than 100 new warplanes and helicopters this year, a high ranking military officer said Wednesday.

"Purchasing of over 100 planes and helicopters is envisaged by state defense order for this year," Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters in the central Russian city of Lipetsk, where a military pilots training center is located.

Borisov noted that the warplane designers sometimes do not take into account the opinion of the pilots about the aircraft's technical characteristics.

"The industry must know how (the pilots) perceive that production. The designers must take into account the pilots' proposals," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

The officer said the newest four-double-plus-generation MIG-35 fighters and newly-revamped SU-35 multipurpose fighters would be delivered in three years after tests are completed.