Armenia Abandons Soviet Weapons and Acquires New Artillery Systems

Armenia has initiated the process of purchasing a batch of French-Indian manufactured Trajan 155 mm towed howitzers, reports Janes.

It is noted that this purchase concerns an "unspecified quantity" of artillery systems of this type by Armenia. The Trajan system has been developed by the French company Nexter Systems. According to the publication, the system has a range of approximately 30 km when firing standard ammunition, and this figure reaches 55 km when using active-reactive artillery shells.

The report states that Armenia's procurement of these artillery systems demonstrates Yerevan's strategic decision to abandon Soviet weapons and ammunition, as the country is already acquiring several types of 155 mm caliber artillery systems. The publication highlights a post from the Russian Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies' Telegram channel, which indicates that Armenia will be the first known customer of the Trajan.

The channel noted that the Trajan systems for Armenia are planned to be produced in India by the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) group, which had previously signed an agreement with Nexter to jointly produce the Trajan, aiming to offer it to the Indian army.

On February 2, 2024, Armenia's Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan regarded India and France as Armenia's main partners in the arms supply sector. According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, total arms imports from India to Armenia reached $600 million at the beginning of the 2024-2025 financial year.