Armenian Strike Drones Undergoing State Testing, Minister Reports

Armenian-made strike drones are currently undergoing state testing, after which they will move to military testing stages, followed by serial production. Minister of High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan stated this during a press conference, as reported by Armenpress.

The minister noted that the government has prioritized the defense industry. Addressing the capabilities of artillery technology, artillery means, and military ammunition production, he said, “The capabilities created will be able to fully meet our local military demand in Armenia by 2021. This applies to both artillery means and mortars, hand grenades, and other areas. Significant investments have been made in Armenia. In this regard, we already have a production process and opportunities for expansion in 2021.” The minister mentioned that similar capabilities had not been available in at least the last two decades.

Referring to strike and reconnaissance UAVs, the minister recalled that there were dozens of funded projects within the framework of scientific research and design programs. “Some of them are already reaching their logical conclusion. From both a strike and reconnaissance perspective, we are already reaching production capabilities. Reconnaissance drones, which do not lag behind similar models in parameters, can already be produced in Armenia,” Arshakyan stated, adding that they were widely used by the armed forces during the Artsakh war.

Thus, according to the minister, there are already production capabilities for Armenian-made reconnaissance UAVs, which have also been applied appropriately. “Regarding the strike drones, state testing is already taking place in some cases, military testing will follow, and they will go into serial production,” Arshakyan added.

Regarding radar technologies used for air defense systems, the minister assured that Armenian developments have been applied with considerable success. This direction is also a high priority for the government. “We will continue funding in these areas: radar systems, communication systems, optical and surveillance systems, optical-laser systems. We also have quite serious developments in optical surveillance systems, and we are already at the production capacity stage. In the near future, these will be expanded, and greater opportunities will be created both for our armed forces and for export,” Arshakyan noted.

Commenting on defense industry allocations, the minister stated that in 2017 an allocation of 1.6 billion drams was made for research and design works. In 2018, this increased to 2.4 billion drams, 3.8 billion drams in 2019, and in 2020, it amounted to 3.3 billion drams, with an additional allocation of 3.4 billion drams at the onset of the war. For 2021, an allocation of 4.6 billion drams is planned. “In other words, compared to 2017, the allocations exceed more than 2.5 times,” Arshakyan concluded.