Moscow, Feb 11 (IANS): Russia's armed forces have substantially increased the number of missiles and their carriers, with the number of high-precision land, air and sea-based cruise missiles increasing 30 times and their carriers more than 12 times since 2012.

"The time for preparing flight missions has been reduced from one and a half months to three hours since 2012," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Xinhua on Tuesday while speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian armed forces.

Shoigu said that in the last year alone the armed forces were replenished with more than 6,500 units of new and modernized weapons.

By the end of this year, the share of modern weapons will be more than 70 per cent and will be maintained at this level, Shoigu added.

Shoigu said that the Russian armed forces have begun commissioning modern military equipment based on digital technologies and artificial intelligence, while weapons systems based on new physical principles are in a state of operational readiness.

In combat training, personnel are actively using robotic systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, the use of which significantly increases the combat effectiveness of troops, Shoigu said.