Russia must upgrade its military defense system and nuclear deterrent by building more modern warships, nuclear-powered submarines and a system of airspace defense, President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday.

"Construction of new types of warships is planned, primarily nuclear submarines armed with cruise missiles and multi-purpose submarines," Medvedev said after military exercises near Orenburg in southern Russia.

"A guaranteed nuclear deterrent system" will be created, including joint air and space defense, Medvedev said at the meeting with military chiefs from across Russia. He required the military modernization process to be completed by 2020 and asked military commanders to come up with a plan by this December.

"We must achieve supremacy in the air, in making high-precision strikes at land and sea targets, as well as in fast troops movement," he said.

Medvedev said the need for modernization was demonstrated by last month's military conflict with Georgia. Russia troops easily crushed Georgian army on Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, but the brief war also revealed Russia's aging arsenal.