Russian military experts forecast that Western nations will have 80,000 cruise missile by 2020, a deputy commander of the Russian General Staff said on Saturday.
"We expect Western countries to have at least 80,000 cruise missiles by 2020, including about 2,000 of them nuclear-powered," Gen. Igor Sheremet said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
He added these missiles are clearly not simply designed for drilling or intimidation purposes.
"They can deliver disarming or even 'decapitation' strikes," Sheremet said.
Hence, he said, the plans to develop Russia's air and space defense system in 2011 as instructed by President Dmitry Medvedev in November.
