The Military Industrial Commission under the Russian Government, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, held a meeting on May 16, 2008 to discuss the following:

• the development of ground-based components and progress of efforts to improve legislation for large-scale use of the GLONASS system;
• the formation of key indicators of the state defence order for 2009 and planning period of 2010 and 2011.

Reports were presented by top officials from the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Federal Agency of Geodesy and Cartography (Roskartografia), the Ministry of Defence, the Military Industrial Commission under the Russian Government and the Ministry of Finance.

The speakers remarked that there had been much recent progress made in setting up and developing the GLONASS orbital group, above all to fulfil the decisions taken by the Russian President and the Russian Security Council.

A portion of the work completed to date consists of amendments to the GLONASS federal targeted programme.

Allocations under that programme are to be increased considerably, in order to produce a full-scale orbital group of 24 satellites by 2011 and to order a reserve of spacecraft.

Those at the meeting acclaimed the development of the ground-based components ensuring the broad use of the GLONASS system, as well as legislation required for the accelerated development and use of GLONASS and the introduction of user-friendly navigation technologies.

The Commission outlined practical measures to address issues affecting the development and use of GLONASS in the interests of national defence and security, socio-economic development and international cooperation.

In its discussion of the progress in formulating the guidelines for the state defence order for 2009 and planning period of 2010 and 2011, the Commission pointed out that it was to the successive stage in coordinating a common stance on the issue among all the parties concerned.

The Commission supported proposals of state customers for additional allocations backed up by estimates and feasibility reports and based on the requirements of the country's military organisation and obligations, as well as the need to streamline commitments.

Measures have been approved to review proposals of state customers on changing the volume and/or structure of the state's expenditure commitments and federal budgetary allocations in 2009-2010, as well as proposals on the volume and/or structure of the state's expenditure commitments and federal budgetary allocations in 2011 as regards spending on the country's defence, law enforcement and security with due consideration for discussions in the Commission.