Moscow  - President Dmitry Medvedev has announced a comprehensive modernization of Russia's armed forces and its nuclear weapons, Russian media reported Saturday.

By 2020, there would be complete overhaul of the nuclear deterrent, Medvedev said at the conclusion of military exercises in the Urals.

The plans include a new generation of nuclear submarines and cruise missiles, as well as better coordination of the country's missile defence system with reconnaissance satellites in space.

Recent events in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia had brought the security situation to a head, he said.

"A war can suddenly break out and become very real. There is a danger that local, smouldering conflicts can flare up into a large- scale military fire," said Medvedev, who is also the head of the Kremlin and commander-in-chief of the Russian forces.

Medvedev's predecessor Vladimir Putin, who is now prime minister, had previously announced a massive modernization of the armed forces and nuclear arsenal by 2015.

Western military experts do not think the Russian armed forces are capable of completing a fundamental modernization without a significant increase in the military budget.

Among Medvedev's plans reported Saturday are permanent combat readiness, a more effective command structure, better training, more modern weapons and social protection for soldiers.

During the conflict in Georgia, military experts had criticized the fact that 21st century Russian soldiers were still using weapons from Soviet times.

Putin announced in the middle of September that the defence budget would be increased by more than a quarter to some 96 billion dollars. (dpa)