The Armenian government looked at acquiring a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with reconnaissance and strike capabilities a couple of years before the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War took place, but it had only put into service a limited number of reconnaissance UAVs by the time the war broke out. Azerbaijan’s effective use of UAVs during the war, which resulted in significant gains of territory in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, has prompted Armenia to upgrade its UAV capabilities with more urgency. The accompanying excerpted articles report on how this is taking shape as Armenian officials continue to look at ways to reform the armed forces following the 2020 war.
The article from Armenpress, an Armenian state news agency, reports on Armenian Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan’s recent trip to Moscow. In the article, Karapetyan outlined a few problems in dealing with the modernization of Armenia’s armed forces, including a need to “have new high quality weapons.” The article goes on to note how Karapetyan made this statement “within the framework of the International Military-Technical Forum-Exhibition ‘Army 2021’ in Moscow.” Karapetyan also stated that Armenians “are planning to get new weapons” and “have given up buying old weapons.” The Armenian Ministry of Defense acquired four Su-30SMs from Russia in early 2020, but they sat unused during the war. Additionally, Armenia is one of only two countries (Algeria is the other) that received the export version of the Russian Iskander short-range ballistic missile system. Armenian forces reportedly launched a few Iskander missiles at Azerbaijani targets during the 2020 war, but they had little impact. There have been no other announcements from Karapetyan about purchases of weapons or equipment since his visit to Moscow.
The article from Eurasia Daily, an independent Russian-language news website, reports how “a department for [UAVs] will be created as part of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia.” The article includes a statement from Armenia’s Cabinet of Ministers on the creation of the department, specifically how “there was a need to pay more attention to the development of [UAV] systems and the process of their control.” The article also notes that the government has approved two more unspecified projects on army reform that are classified. Before the 2020 war, the Armenian Defense Ministry would publicly discuss most military reform efforts (see: “Armenia’s Defense and Strategy Reforms,” OE Watch, August 2020), but it now appears that it will be keeping some of these classified.
As part of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, a department for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will be created.
Source: “Планируем иметь новое, качественное оружие. Аршак Карапетян в Москве (We are planning to have new, quality weapons. Arshak Karapetyan in Moscow),” Armenpress (Armenian state news agency), 24 August 2021. https://armenpress.am/rus/news/1061540/
Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan sees three main problems that he faces on the path of creating a new, modernized army and solving the country’s security problems, the first of which is to have new high-quality weapons…
As reported by Armenpress, the Minister of Defense said this within the framework of the International Military-Technical Forum-Exhibition “Army 2021” in Moscow…“I can say that I have not heard the word “no” here. And we will take practical steps to develop our cooperation with Russia. We are planning to have quality weapons, we are planning to get new weapons, we have given up buying old weapons…” said Arshak Karapetyan…
Source: “Эхо карабахской войны: Генштаб ВС Армении сформирует отдельное Управление по БПЛА (The Echo of the Karabakh War: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia will create a separate department for UAVs),” Eurasia Daily (an independent Russian-language news website), 20 August 2021. https://eadaily.com/ru/news/2021/08/20/eho-karabahskoy-voyny-genshtab-vs-armenii-sformiruet-otdelnoeupravlenie-po-bpla
A department for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be created as part of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia…
“Considering the development of military equipment, as well as the course of hostilities (in Karabakh) in 2020, it became clear that there was a need to pay more attention to the development of unmanned aerial vehicle systems and the process of their control,” the Cabinet of Ministers said in its decision…
The government has approved two more projects on the army reform, however, they are classified and not subject to publication.
Earlier this year, the republic’s authorities announced plans to reform and modernize the Armenian army, the need for which arose after the war in Karabakh last autumn…
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