Medvedev: Russia must stop "patching up" old arms

Military vehicles move along Red Square in Moscow during a Victory Day parade May 9, 2009.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia must stop "patching up" old weapons and build new ones as it tries to adapt its armed forces to current threats, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday, Russian news agencies reported.

"A fundamental task stands before us: to re-equip the army and navy with new weapons," state-owned RIA quoted Medvedev as saying at celebration on the eve of Defenders of the Fatherland Day, a national holiday honoring the military.

"We must focus our resources, all our best strengths -- as our country has repeatedly done -- to create new, quality armaments and leave behind for good the system of patching up holes in old weapons," Medvedev was quoted as saying.

Moscow has struggled to match Western advances in military technology since the Soviet era and has chafed at U.S. military might. Despite its victory, Russia's brief 2008 war against Georgia underscored problems with its aging arms.

Moscow has talked with France about buying a Mistral class helicopter carrier, and said it bought Israeli pilotless drones.

Failed tests have clouded the future of Russia's new submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental nuclear missile. After the maiden test-flight of a long-awaited new fighter plane last month, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said it needed work.

Medvedev said developing new weapons is part of a broader effort to build a more effective Russian military.

"Our strategic goal is the formation of an effective army and navy that are adequate to the level of modern threats, are able to stand up to any level of aggression and to be a real factor in providing international stability," he said.

(Reporting by Steve Gutterman; writing by Steve Gutterman; editing by Andrew Roche)