Defence ministry: France supplies Armenia with weapons worth €274.5 million

In 2023–2024, Armenia signed contracts with France for the supply of weapons totalling more than €274 million, RFE/RL reports, citing a French Ministry of Armed Forces report submitted to Parliament.

The document states that, as part of diversifying defence cooperation, Armenia decided to turn to France to strengthen its military capabilities and ensure the security of its population. “The export of new equipment, the holding of military exercises, and joint operations are exclusively defensive in nature. The establishment of a French defense mission in Yerevan in 2023 allows for establishing closer ties with Armenian partners and for determining the best formats of cooperation,” the report says.

Until 2022, France had practically no arms deliveries to Armenia; however, in 2023–2024, numerous contracts were signed to equip the Armenian ground forces. Several joint projects in Armenia’s defence industry are also under discussion.

The Franco-Armenian military partnership includes, in particular, a programme for developing skills in mountain warfare, under which the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy in Yerevan collaborates with the French Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Special Military School.

The report also specifies that France supplies Armenia with Caesar self-propelled howitzers, as was known earlier, as well as 15 anti-tank missiles and their launchers.

By Vugar Khalilov