"We have not only conducted tests of the latest nuclear rocket systems," Putin said in televised remarks to a meeting of generals representing the various branches of Russia's armed forces. "I am sure that in the coming years we will acquire them.

"Moreover, these will be things which do not exist and are unlikely to exist in other nuclear powers," he added.

Putin failed to specify what type of complex he was referring to but Russia has been seeking to upgrade its nuclear arsenal after the United States announced plans in 2001 to develop a missile defense shield in abrogation of its 1972 ABM Treaty with Moscow.

Washington argues its shield would only be capable of defending the United States from attacks from so-called "rogue states" and could not stand up to Russia's massive Soviet-era nuclear arsenal.

However Putin has since mentioned plans for Russia to also develop a similar system along with new types of intercontinental missiles that Moscow claims could penetrate any space shield put up by the United States.

The ITAR-TASS news agency speculated that Putin was referring to the mobile Topol-M missile which is analogous to an US Minuteman-3 and is meant to form the backbone of Russia's future nuclear arsenal.

The Topol-M is the first intercontinental missile developed by Russia following the Soviet Union's collapse but its deployment -- initially set for the end of 2002 -- has been repeatedly delayed because of severe cash constraints.

The ITAR-TASS report quoted the missile's Moscow producer as saying that mass production of the Topol-M will be included in the military's 2005 procurement budget.

This would mean they would be issued to the armed forces in 2006.

The shift in attention to nuclear deterrence came unexpectedly because Putin has for months said that terrorism posed the major threat to Russia's national security amid a wave of deadly suicide attacks from guerrillas in rebel Chechnya.

Putin said Wednesday that Russia still viewed terrorism as the greatest threat to its national security but should also not forget about the nuclear threat.

"We understand that the moment we turn our attention from such elements of our defenses as a nuclear missile shield, then we will be facing new threats," Putin said.

"That is why we will continue to persistently develop our armed forces on the whole, including its nuclear arsenal potential," Putin said.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.