Armenia’s Defense Diversification Gains Steam

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In a significant realignment, India and France, once considered unlikely partners, have emerged as Armenia’s top suppliers of military hardware over the past two years. Armenia has reportedly placed substantial orders from India for artillery pieces, including howitzers and multiple rocket launchers, alongside air defense systems and other equipment. Meanwhile, France is providing armored vehicles, radars, howitzers, and potentially, air defense systems.

Armenia has sought to expand ties with others as well. In recent months, Armenia’s Defense Ministry has reported agreements on military-technical cooperation with six countries: Greece, Czechia and Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, and Germany. Military-technical cooperation refers to the sale of military equipment, technology transfer, research and development (R&D), and related matters. With the ongoing move away from Russia and closer ties with the West, security ties have further deepened with the U.S. and the EU.

In March, a senior Armenian official revealed that Russia’s share in Armenia’s arms acquisitions has dropped from 96% in [before] 2020 to less than 10% since 2021. The official, Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the Security Council, later said Armenia now has “four-five major partners” that supply weapons. Although he did not name any besides India and France, he suggested that they are “European, Western countries.”

I look at the growing list of nations engaging in defense cooperation with Armenia and explore both past and recent developments.

Greece

Greece has long been Armenia’s key European and NATO partner in defense. The two countries established a legal framework for defense cooperation back in 1996, and since 1998, some Armenian cadets have received education in Greece.

In December 2023, Defense Ministers Suren Papikyan and Nikos Dendias signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation in Athens. Dendias said that Greece wants to cooperate with allied countries like Armenia to “enhance their defense[s] with innovative solutions” and that Greece is “100% ready to maintain this increasing momentum to the mutual benefit” of both countries. The ministers met again in March to discuss progress and identified new areas for cooperation. They agreed to enhance military-technical cooperation once the December agreement is mutually ratified, which Armenia’s parliament did on June 12. The agreement entails, among other things, transfer of technology and knowledge for arms production, R&D, joint production, personnel training, and weapons maintenance.

After Dendias suggested that Greece can learn from the use of drones in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, Azerbaijani state-controlled media accused Greece of turning Armenia into a “testing ground” for its nascent anti-drone systems. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev went on to claim that Greece, alongside France and India, is “openly” arming Armenia.

A trilateral cooperation has been established with Greece and Cyprus in recent years. During his visit to Yerevan, Dendias referred to potential quadrilateral cooperation with France and India, describing them as “very big powers that are common friends of Armenia and Greece.” India’s ambassador to Armenia reacted positively to these remarks in a subsequent interview, but called it “still a little premature.” Most recently, Armenia’s Chief of the General Staff Edward Asryan met with his Greek counterpart in June to discuss cooperation and personnel training.

Czechia and Slovakia

On paper, Armenia’s defense cooperation with both the Czech Republic and Slovakia officially began in 2010. An agreement on military-technical cooperation with the Czechs was signed in 2019 and ratified by Armenia last September. In January, Armenia appointed its military attaché in Germany to also cover ties with Czechia. A Czech Defense Ministry delegation and defense industry representatives visited Yerevan in April to discuss military-technical cooperation with Deputy Defense Minister Karen Brutyan. The Armenian Defense Ministry said that “several agreements were reached” without providing details.

In May, an Armenian delegation led by Brutyan attended the IDEB-2024 defense expo in Bratislava and met with Slovakia’s Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák and defense industry reps to discuss military-technical cooperation. Armenia’s Defense Ministry again said that a “number of agreements were reached” without giving any specifics.

These two countries, successors to Soviet-aligned Czechoslovakia, maintain a significant defense industry and produce notable armaments such as the DANA and Zuzana howitzers and the RM-70 multiple rocket launchers. Both are also cementing ties with Azerbaijan. Seventy DITA self-propelled howitzers, an improved DANA variant, will reportedly be exported to Azerbaijan by the Czech company Excalibur Army (part of the Czechoslovak Group). In May, Slovakia’s Defense Minister Kaliňák visited Baku and signed a defense cooperation agreement with Aliyev, who said that talks have begun on setting up joint defense production.

In 2018, Czechia and Slovakia exported around 30 RM-70s and 36 DANAs to Azerbaijan under controversial circumstances. Earlier, Slovakia had exported a single T-72 tank in 2002 and an A42 cannon in 2010 to Azerbaijan.

Italy

Armenia and Italy signed a military cooperation agreement in October 2012 to coordinate defense policies, training military personnel, participation in peacekeeping missions and forging links between their defense industries. Then Defense Ministers Seyran Ohanyan and Giampaolo Di Paola both referred to military-technical cooperation at the time, but no progress was reported subsequently.

Defense ties have received a new boost recently. In November 2023, Italy’s Chief of the General Staff Giuseppe Cavo Dragone visited Armenia and met with Defense Minister Papikyan and Chief of the General Staff Edward Asryan to outline directions for cooperation. An Armenian defense delegation flew to Rome in March to discuss development prospects with Italian counterparts and signed an annual cooperation program. A month later, Deputy Defense Minister Brutyan was in Rome to meet with senior officials and industry reps, including the president of the AIAD, the Italian Industries Federation of Aerospace, Defense and Security. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said the meetings focused on military-technical and military-technological cooperation and reported that several agreements were reached. Italy’s Defense Ministry also referred to discussions on military-technical cooperation.

Like Czechia and Slovakia, Italy has drawn increasingly closer to Azerbaijan, its chief oil supplier. In February 2020, Azerbaijan bought an undisclosed number of M-346 Master trainer aircraft from the Italian defense manufacturer Leonardo. In June 2023, in the first major Western arms sale to Azerbaijan, Leonardo signed a contract to export two C-27J Spartan transport aircraft. The first was delivered this June. La Repubblica reported last September that Italy and Azerbaijan are in talks for a weapons deal estimated to be worth between one and two billion euros, including anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air missile batteries, and midget submarines.

Bulgaria

Defense cooperation with Bulgaria officially began in 1996 and it is known to have previously supplied armament, mostly ammunition, to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the EU’s arms exports database, from 2013 to 2022, it supplied almost €293 million in weapons to Azerbaijan and nearly €48 million to Armenia. Almost 95% of both countries’ arms imports from Bulgaria consists of “ammunition and fuze setting devices”.[1]

In February, Papikyan met with his Bulgarian counterpart Todor Tagarev in Germany, where they agreed to “further expand cooperation.” Papikyan met with his successor, Atanas Zapryanov, at a security forum in Brussels in May. Days later, Papikyan visited Bulgaria, where he attended the Hemus 2024 defense expo in Plovdiv, met with Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev and Minister Zapryanov. With the latter, he discussed the “possibilities of cooperation” in the military-technical domain. Papikyan toured the expo and met with industry representatives, leading to “several agreements” according to the Defense Ministry.

Germany

Armenia and Germany signed a military cooperation agreement in 2007. Between 2010 and 2021, Armenian peacekeepers served under German command in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. They underwent short training courses in Germany before their deployments.

In early June 2024, Deputy Defense Minister Brutyan attended the ILA Berlin 2024 expo. He also met with industry reps and Germany’s state secretary in charge of procurement, Benedikt Zimmer, and other officials. Discussions focused on military-technical and military-technological cooperation. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said that “several agreements were reached and various documents were signed.” No other details were provided.

United States

Although the military-technical component is apparently missing, defense ties between Armenia and the U.S. have expanded significantly. U.S. Ambassador Kristina Kvien told RFE/RL in April that the two have “very active and robust” discussions about security and defense, emphasizing that “significant expansion” has occurred in the past year. She highlighted the appointment of a resident advisor from the U.S. who will collaborate with Armenia’s Defense Ministry to enhance capacity, focusing on internal reforms and peacekeeping. Zhirayr Amirkhanyan, an advisor to Armenia’s Chief of the General Staff, mentioned recently that the U.S. is supporting military reforms through the Pentagon’s Institute for Security Governance (ISG).

Amirkhanyan further indicated that, currently, the U.S. is willing to sell only non-lethal equipment to Armenia. In a recent report, two RAND analysts proposed that the U.S. could provide Armenia defensive hardware such as short-range air defense systems and counter-drone systems to complement the capabilities Armenia is receiving from France. They argued that such supply should be conditional on Armenia providing verifiable assurances of compliance with end-use requirements to prevent unauthorized transfer of technology.

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Armenia’s Defense Ministry held the first annual staff talks in May to “discuss bilateral defense priorities, develop areas for further cooperation, and outline military engagements for the coming years.” When Armenia and the U.S. held the third strategic dialogue in Yerevan in June, they agreed to upgrade ties to strategic partnership. On security, the U.S. said it will continue to support Armenia through advisory programs, military-to-military contact activities, and military education opportunities. The sides agreed to initiate formal bilateral defense consultations to “regularize planning of defense cooperation objectives.”

Between July 15 and 24, Armenia and the U.S. will hold the second Eagle Partner joint exercise. The previous one, held last September, was the first joint military exercise since 2008. It involved around 175 Armenian and 85 U.S. personnel. The exercise aims to enhance interoperability in peacekeeping missions, exchange best practices in control and tactical communication, and improve the readiness of the Armenian unit. The U.S. military says the training “allows troops from both nations to become familiar with each other’s equipment.”

European Union

The EU is not a hard power provider, but its ties with Armenia have come to include a security component. RFE/RL reported in early July that the EU is set to approve a €10 million non-lethal military assistance to Armenia under its European Peace Facility (EPF) mechanism on July 22, after Hungary had apparently dropped its veto. The EU’s foreign ministers had originally agreed to explore the possibility of military support to Armenia last November. In April RFE/RL reported that a “preliminary agreement” had been reached to allocate 10 million euros to finance the establishment of a mobile field camp capability for a battalion-size unit to strengthen Armenia’s “capabilities to enhance national security, stability and resilience in the defense sector.”

The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said in February that the EU is also looking into having Armenia participate in EU-led missions and operations. In May, Minister Papikyan and General Robert Brieger, chairman of the European Union Military Committee, the forum for military consultation and cooperation between EU members, agreed to enhance cooperation. Papikyan also met with Charles Fries, Deputy Secretary General for Peace, Security, and Defense of the EU’s diplomatic service, who said that the sides are taking “ concrete steps to deepen cooperation on security and defense.” No further details have been made public.

In a recent piece, two analysts of the Center for European Policy Analysis argued that the EU could contribute to Armenia’s security in the following ways: assist Armenia through Frontex to control its borders, mobilize EU members to join France in enhancing Armenia’s defensive capabilities, and provide advanced military equipment and conduct joint exercises to modernize Armenia’s armed forces and improve interoperability with European partners.

Armenia has further sought to expand ties with individual EU member states, such as the Netherlands and Austria.

In May, Minister Papikyan and the Belgian ambassador discussed prospects for cooperation. Papikyan traveled to Belgium a week later, where he met with Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval. Papikyan also toured the headquarters of John Cockerill, a Belgian defense manufacturer of gun turrets for armored vehicles. They agreed to “continue discussions on the possibilities of further cooperation.” John Cockerill is set to acquire Arquus, a French manufacturer, by the end of this summer. The latter supplies 90% of the French army’s wheeled vehicles and is the producer of the Bastion armored vehicles. Armenia has ordered 50 of these vehicles, with nearly half shipped via Georgia last November and the remainder expected this summer.

Footnotes: 

[1] Bulgaria has declared some of its exports in the UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA). Supplies to Armenia have included 1,094 light machine guns in 2017 and 500 RPG-22 anti-tank rocket launchers in 2019. Exports to Azerbaijan 10 UBGL grenade launchers in 2015, 156 and 2015 Bulspike anti-tank rocket launchers in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and 2 AGS-30 grenade launchers in 2022. Earlier, in 2002 Bulgaria sold Azerbaijan 36 M-46 towed guns.

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