Armenia is rearming

Armenia is re-equipping, purchasing and mastering modern technologies with the possibility of using them in a war of the level of the 21st century. It is noticeable that the equipping with new weapons  follows the  pattern of reforming the Azerbaijani army, which abandoned Soviet military-technical technologies and mastered the use of aerospace methods in war.

Just like Azerbaijan, Armenia has launched its first satellite, is preparing to launch the second one in the near future, and is building a ground control center and satellite receiving station. The supply of equipment has already begun, and the training of specialists is underway. The work will be completed by the end of the year.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the launch of the first satellite,  and listing its capabilities, he mentioned control over the land borders of Armenia.

“Our satellite is not a communications satellite. It is a satellite for remote sensing of the Earth,” announced the Minister of High-Tech Industry Robert Khachatryan. The Minister assured that the government is not going to stop there, there are other ambitious space projects, but he did not specify which.

Armenia is  having talks with its main partner, Spain's Satlantis, but the government says it's open to "new cooperation." The first satellite was launched into space as a result of cooperation between the Armenian state-owned Geokosmos CJSC and Satlantis. This company was founded in the USA in 2013, a year later the head office moved to Spain.

In Azerbaijan, a triad of satellites was used for target designation in the 2020 war. The targets were destroyed by ground fire weapons and attack drones of local, Israeli and Turkish production.

One of the largest English-language newspapers in Mumbai, “DnaIndia”, announced Yerevan's intention to purchase military drones and other weapons from India. According to the publication, in June of this year, a delegation of the Armenian Defense Ministry went to Delhi with a list of weapons it needs.

The official website of the Armenian Defense Ministry did not publish a message about the visit to India. Rumors about a possible deal were not denied here, but they did not comment on it either.

The words of an Armenian official are also transmitted from Dehli,  that the 2020 war in Karabakh made it necessary to reconsider the military needs of the country. The Indian edition does not report his name, but quotes him as saying: “The war showed how useless Russian military equipment is against Turkish weapons, especially Bayraktar drones.”

“DnaIndia” does not specify what kind of weapons are being negotiated, whether a deal has been concluded and for how much.

On April 13, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan received Indian Ambassador to Armenia Kishan Dan Dewal. Papikian and Deval discussed "the need for military-political consultations, mutual high-level visits, as well as the signing of an agreement on military cooperation between the Armenian and Indian defense ministries."

The trend for the rearmament of the Armenian army was set in February 2021. "Armenia is introducing new complexes, weapons systems and military equipment into the armed forces, recruiting more officers, civil servants and contract servicemen. The main focus will be on the development of control systems, intelligence, electronic warfare, air defense, missile forces, artillery and the construction of drones" , RBC reported.

Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan stated that the Armenian authorities intend to take decisive steps to develop the military industry in the country to create a new modern army. “We plan to purchase new weapons, we refused to purchase old weapons. It is better to have fewer weapons, but high quality ones. The main thing is for us to be sure that this weapon works,” Karapetyan said.

On August 18, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, presenting the government's program for 2021-2026, announced his intention to reform and modernize the Armenian Armed Forces.