Russian news website Sputnik studied the 2018-2025 armament program of the country. The site announced improvements to the final draft of the state-run armament program (DSP-2025) to be addressed in June 2017. The document identifies the weapons and technologies that will serve the Russian army in the next eight years. According to the site, details of the DSP-2025 are kept secret for now, but Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Yuriy Borisov has specified the general outline of the program in February. Borisov said the main task of the Russian defence industry was to replace 70 percent of the military equipment by 2020. Priority has traditionally been given to deterrent nuclear weapons and air-space defence vehicles.

Some military experts argue that many ambitious projects can be delayed indefinitely under declining financing conditions, although the DSP-2025 prioritize the S-500 air and missile defense systems, the fifth-generation PAK FA fighter aircraft and the Main Communication Tanks, such as the Armata, which are of great importance to the military.

According to the site, the following developments will be realized;

Andrey Frolov, general editor in chief of the Moscow-based Eksport Voorujeniy (Weapons Export) magazine, argued that financial constraints would most impact the naval forces that were allocated more resources in the current program of arms. Frolov said that the construction of strategic submarines will continue and that the modernization of Shtorm nuclear aircraft warships and Leader destroyer projects could be postponed, but that the modernization work on 'Petr Velikiy' and 'Admiral Nahimov' nuclear cruisers and on Russia's sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov would be realized.

On the other hand, chief editor Viktor Nikolaev noted that the shipbuilding program for the Arctic region would not be interrupted.

Experts argued that air and space forces will not be much affected by reduced financing. Experts say that they do not expect a decline in the modernization of weapons used in land forces, and that by 2020 the army's modern tank rate could reach 70 per cent. Frolov explained that the use of modernized T-72 tanks would increase in the army, that the new T-14s, designed based on Armata tanks, might begin serial production in limited numbers which would help increase saving in production costs.

On the other hand, military expert Viktor Murahovskiy said, “Especially Buk-M3, Tor-M2, S-300B4 systems are on the agenda, claiming that the air defence systems of the land forces will be increased significantly. “As for the nuclear components of our nuclear forces, we will focus on the development of the Sarmat thermo-nuclear ballistic missiles and the Barguzin nuclear trains and the modernization of the weapons currently in use.”