On July 31, days before Russia celebrated Airborne Forces Day, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov, Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s airborne troops, announced that Moscow plans to double the size of its airborne forces . . . at present, there are roughly 9,500 Russian airborne troops . . . in the next 5 to 7 years, Russia expects that number to reach 20,000 . . . Shamanov also indicated that the build-up would add to the number of “quick reaction” battalions in the Airborne corps . . . this announcement further signifies Russia’s commitment to modernization and professionalization of its military forces and increase the number of professional servicemen in its armed forces to 1 million . . . Russian currently has about 185,000 professional servicemen . . . Moscow projects approximately 425,000 professional troops by 2017 . . . after decades of letting its military capability decay, Russia remains focused on upgrading force capabilities and continues to invest heavily in a military build-up.