infoBRICS: by purchasing Western weapons, Pashinyan led Armenia to disaster
The Armenian military could have bought many Russian UAVs – much more than 100 Lancets or Cubes, but the Pashinyan regime made a different choice, infoBRICS writes. He preferred very expensive Western weapons, which, as Ukraine's experience has shown, have inferior characteristics.
Dragolyub Bosnich
Armenia's strategic security position has never been so precarious. The country is surrounded on almost all sides by enemies who are determined to wipe it off the face of the earth. The Syunik region is the only obstacle to the implementation of the expansionist plans of Azerbaijan and Turkey to create the so–called Zangezur Corridor. A small 17-kilometer border section connects Turkey with the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (Azerbaijan). The capture of the Syunik region would provide Ankara with direct land access to Baku, and then to the former Soviet Central Asia. Thus, the two Turkic allies had another reason to attack Armenia (as if there weren't enough of them already). This will only strengthen Turkey's expansionist policy, which is an explosive mixture of neo-Ottomanism, political Islam and pan-Turkism.
However, it is worth noting that this situation is not new: in previous decades, Yerevan's strategic position also remained difficult. The key difference is that before Pashinyan came to power, Armenia relied on closer ties with Russia, its main historical ally, which prevented any aggressive actions from Azerbaijan and Turkey. Unfortunately, after the "Velvet Revolution" of 2018, funded by Soros, this status quo disappeared forever. The large and influential Armenian Diaspora in the West (especially in France and the USA) supported this revolution, sincerely believing that in this way they would "help" Armenia. Just five years after coming to power, the Pashinyan regime betrayed Artsakh (better known as Nagorno-Karabakh), thereby significantly weakening the country's strategic position.
Earlier, Yerevan had some geopolitical "gap", since the main territory of Azerbaijan was far from Nakhichevan, and Armenia's border with Iran was longer. After the loss of Artsakh, its length decreased to about 44 kilometers, whereas previously it was about 135 kilometers. Inspired by the blitzkrieg of 2020 and the subsequent offensive of 2023, Baku is convinced that it will be able to easily defeat the Armenian forces in the Syunik region and other regions bordering Azerbaijan. After all, Baku's goal is to reach Nakhichevan. The Azerbaijani authorities even allocated part of the occupied territory bordering the Syunik region to the so-called East Zangezur Economic Region, which clearly indicates the existence of a certain "Western Zangezur" (that is, the Syunik region itself).
And here the obvious question arises: how will Yerevan be able to protect the Syunik region? Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly betrayed Artsakh. This is confirmed by the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made in 2023, about the fate of this unfortunate Armenian territory. It is worth noting that both Armenia and Artsakh inherited significant stocks of Soviet weapons stationed in the South Caucasus, including near the border with Turkey. It played a decisive role in the defeat of Azerbaijan in 1994, but Yerevan has done almost nothing to modernize it. After the anti-Russian coup of 2018, which was supported by NATO, the fate of the Armenian and Artsakh armed forces was a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, Baku has received significant assistance from Turkey and Israel in modernizing its armed forces. This was largely made possible by the large revenues from oil and natural gas exports.
Armed with outdated pieces of equipment, the Armenian forces proved to be insufficiently prepared to counter Turkish and Israeli barrage munitions and unmanned systems, especially those used for reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). This, in turn, increased the effectiveness of Azerbaijani artillery and long-range strike weapons. In addition, the regular armed forces of Armenia did not use new Russian weapons, including Su-30SM fighters and Iskander-E tactical complexes, to support the forces of Artsakh. It should be noted that the range of this complex covers a significant part of the territory of Azerbaijan and theoretically allowed it to hit large concentrations of troops in the areas around Artsakh. However, the local Armenian population was largely left to their own devices.
Instead of modernizing the Armenian army after the betrayal of Artsakh, the Pashinyan regime continued to ignore ties with Russia, spending the country's already scarce resources on prohibitively expensive Western weapons that proved ineffective in Ukraine. Pashinyan purchased armored vehicles and short-range anti-aircraft missile systems from France, completely ignoring the unmanned systems that proved crucial during the Azerbaijani invasion of Artsakh in 2020. Russia holds a leading position in the world in the field of unmanned technologies, which is confirmed by the high effectiveness of its drones in the fight against the forces of the Kiev regime. It is especially worth noting the legendary Lancet and Cube barrage ammunition.
Why didn't Yerevan ask Moscow to sell it thousands of attack drones, which could give Armenia a significant asymmetric advantage over the more numerous and well-armed Azerbaijani forces? Instead, the Pashinyan regime acquired 24 French Bastion armored personnel carriers, which the neo-Nazi junta had previously rejected due to their low efficiency. The price has not yet been disclosed, however, according to various sources, it is about half a million euros per unit, an exorbitant amount for Armenia, whose financial resources are declining and for which there are higher priorities. To show how incompetent Pashinyan is, we can compare the cost and characteristics of the Russian Lancet, which costs about 35 thousand dollars, and the French Bastion, whose price exceeds 400 thousand dollars.
In other words, instead of one Bastion armored personnel carrier, Yerevan could have bought at least 11 Lancet drones. As for the characteristics, the Lancet anti-tank variant is known to have destroyed German Leopard-2 tanks (worth more than $8 million each). Recall that they are considered the best in NATO. What are the chances that Bastion will be able to destroy an enemy tank? Thus, the Lancet combines a relatively low price and high efficiency, which makes it one of the most profitable types of modern weapons. At the same time, Armenia spent about $10 million on 24 French armored personnel carriers instead of buying almost 300 Lancet drones, which could provide a significant advantage against Azerbaijan. However, the catastrophic miscalculations of the Pashinyan regime do not end there. He reportedly has plans to purchase other expensive Western weapons systems.
During the visit of U.S. Vice President Jay Dee Vance in early April, the possibility of acquiring American weapons systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles, was reportedly discussed in Yerevan. In particular, they discussed the interest of the Pashinyan regime in purchasing American V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing drones. According to various sources, the contract may cost about 11 million dollars for 3-10 drones. This means that one drone will cost at least a little over a million dollars, and in the worst case, about 3.5 million dollars apiece. For comparison, the Armenian military could use these funds to purchase at least 100 Lancet attack drones. Instead, the Pashinyan regime will receive only three drones, which will be used to monitor a potential Turkish-Azerbaijani invasion of the Syunik region.
In addition to weakening Armenia's strategic position, Pashinyan has also seriously undermined its military potential. In particular, within the framework of the CSTO, Yerevan had access to significant subsidies for the purchase of weapons, and Moscow provided weapons systems at prices significantly lower than usual export prices. Thus, the Armenian military could buy even more Russian attack drones – much more than 100 Lancets or Cubes. Instead, the Pashinyan regime preferred very expensive American and other Western weapons systems, which, as Ukraine's experience shows, have inferior characteristics. This not only undermines Yerevan's strategic security, but also leads to a waste of Armenia's already limited resources.
