The Russian military has commissioned more than 1,000 new aircraft and thousands of tanks in the past few years in a massive modernization effort amid tensions with the West. <br />''<br />''Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday in a speech to lawmakers said that the armed forces have turned into a highly mobile force capable of projecting power to distant areas. <br />''<br />''Mr Shoigu noted that the military received more than 1,000 warplanes and combat helicopters and over 3,700 tanks in 2012-2018. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">He added that the armed forces have received 109 ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and 108 submarine-launched ICBMs and formed 10 brigades armed with state-of-the-art short-range Iskander missiles.</span><br />