ArmInfo. Armenia signed arms contracts with France worth over EUR 274 million in 2023-2024, according to a report presented to parliament by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. This was reported by the Armenian service of Radio Liberty.
The service's publication notes that in the document, the French Ministry of Defense states that, as part of the diversification of defense cooperation, Armenia has decided to turn to France to strengthen its military capabilities and ensure the security of the population. "The export of new equipment, military exercises, and joint operations are strictly defensive in nature. The establishment of a French defense mission in Yerevan in 2023 will allow for closer ties with Armenian partners and the identification of the best forms of cooperation," the report states. Until 2022, France supplied virtually no weapons to Armenia, but in 2023- 2024, numerous contracts were signed to equip the ground forces. Several joint projects in the Armenian defense industry are also under discussion. The military partnership includes, in particular, a program to develop mountain warfare skills, through which the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy in Yerevan is collaborating with the Saint-Cyr Special Military School (Saint-Cyr Coetquidan) in France.
The report also clarifies that France is supplying Armenia with Caesar self-propelled howitzers, as previously reported, as well as 15 anti-tank missiles and launchers for them.
It is worth noting that on September 27, 2023, then-French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced the appointment of a French military attache in Yerevan to further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation. Already in early October of that year, France responded positively to Armenia's request for military assistance amid the threat posed by Azerbaijan. On October 22-23, 2023, at a meeting in Paris between French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, an agreement on arms supplies to Yerevan was announced. Agreements were signed to supply Yerevan with three Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) radars and a memorandum of understanding for the supply of Mistral short- range air defense systems. A second contract concerned the acquisition by Yerevan of night-vision binoculars, equipment manufactured by Safran. France also committed to supplying Armenia with 50 Bastion light armored vehicles.
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