Armenia Deepens Defense Ties with India Amid Internal Defense Ministry Reshuffle

During an official visit to Armenia, India's Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh held talks with Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan.

Military-Technical Cooperation with India

As noted by Minister Papikyan on his social media, the meeting focused on strengthening bilateral ties.

"We discussed issues related to Armenian-Indian defense cooperation, including military-technical partnerships," Suren Papikyan wrote.

According to Indian media reports, Armenia has emerged as one of the top three buyers of Indian defense products, alongside the United States and France. Over the past 4 years, Armenia and India have signed several major contracts for the procurement of ammunition, missiles, radar systems, night vision devices, and body armor. Notably, Armenia is the first foreign purchaser of the Indian-made "Akash" air defense systems.

The scale of the arms supplies includes the following major deals:

• In late September 2022, a contract worth over 250 million dollars was signed, which included the purchase of 214-millimeter "Pinaka" rocket systems and anti-tank missile complexes.
• In the fall of 2023, the "Indian Defence Research Wing" reported that in early August, "Bharat Forge LTD" delivered six "ATAGS" 155-millimeter howitzers to Armenia.
• The total value of this specific deal is 155.5 million dollars, which stipulates the delivery of 90 artillery units over a period of 3 years.

Personnel Changes in the Ministry of Defense

In parallel with these international developments, the Armenian defense establishment has undergone internal personnel changes. On Facebook, Suren Papikyan announced the end of the tenure for two of his advisors, Melikset Poghosyan and Razmik Petrosyan, who had held their positions since 2022.

"Melikset Poghosyan and Razmik Petrosyan have completed their tenure as advisors to the Minister of Defense. I thanked them for their service and awarded them with departmental medals," the minister stated.