Armenia has reportedly been in talks with India to procure missiles and upgrade its Su-30 combat aircraft fleet.
The country’s air force department head Col. Hovhannes Vardanyan discussed possible areas of cooperation with Indian Armed Forces Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan at the International Defence Aviation Exposition 2024 in Jodhpur in early September.
“We are looking at modernising our Su-30s with the help of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as it has a lot of expertise in the field,” Vardanyan told Hindustan Times.
Though the talks are still in the early stages, an unnamed source from India’s defense ministry informed The Print that Yerevan was looking to upgrade their Su-30s and integrate Indian-made weapons, including guided air-to-surface munitions.
The source noted that first addressing missile export protocols and the regional conflict surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh is crucial.
Tensions in the South Caucasus
Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics, have been engaged in a long-standing territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh that has resulted in significant civilian displacement.
Russia acted as a broker for ceasefires and deployed peacekeepers in affected areas.
In the two countries’ 44-day war in 2020, Baku launched a military offensive that was backed by Turkey and also reportedly by Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Yerevan failed to deploy its four Su-30s bought from Moscow due to their lack of firepower, which significantly contributed to Baku’s ability to regain control over the region.
The results of this loss, coupled with the landlocked country’s frustrations with delayed Russian imports, prompted its push to diversify its defense partnerships.
India looked to supply arms to Armenia to boost its growing self-reliant defense industry and counterbalance Turkey and Pakistan’s influence in the region.
Since 2020, they have enhanced their military relationship through various arms agreements and announced plans to appoint defense attachés in each other’s countries.
In the same year, Armenia signed a $40-million defense deal and a $2-billion military partnership with India that included provisions for various Indian-made weapon systems.
Among various munitions supplied recently, India sold its first indigenously designed Pinaka Multiple-Barrel Rocket Launchers to Armenia for around $265 million, facilitated through transfers via Iran.
“The former Soviet Republic of Armenia has become the largest importer of weapons from India after concluding deals on the purchase of Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systems and Akash anti-aircraft systems,” according to an Indian Finance Ministry report.
Azerbaijan’s Concerns
In July 2023, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Department Hikmat Hajiyev urged Indian Ambassador Sridharan Madhusudhanan to reconsider how their actions may contribute to Armenia’s militarization and impact ongoing peace negotiations between the two South Caucasus nations.
Hajiyev emphasized that India’s arms supply contradicts its stated foreign policy principles grounded in international law and the Bandung Principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, of which the South Asian country is a member.
In response, Madhusudhanan acknowledged Hajiyev’s concerns while underscoring the necessity for dialogue among involved parties.