Upgrading the Russian aircraft fleet is a rather complex task but there is a need to work very intensively on it, President Vladimir Putin said.

"The task is challenging; I realize this. Nevertheless, we should intensively work on it [on the upgrade of the aircraft fleet - TASS]," the President stressed.

Putin emphasized that the national civil aviation industry requires particular attention. "Just several countries in the world are capable of manufacturing the line of modern airplanes. And Russia is among them," the head of state added.