Haqqin: Armenia has increased military spending to a record levelArmenia has increased military spending to a record level this year, Haqqin writes.
One of the suppliers of weapons will be India, which is ready to provide Yerevan with anti-aircraft missile systems, rocket launchers and artillery installations.
Farid IsaevAlong with rocket launchers and anti-aircraft missile systems, India will sell self-propelled artillery units (self-propelled guns) designed for fighting in high-altitude areas to Armenia.
According to the Indian Defense Research Wing, an Indian publication specializing in the military industry and weapons, Armenia has ordered 155-millimeter self-propelled guns MarG (Multi-terrain Artillery Gun) from India.
It is reported that by order of Armenia, this weapon was specially developed by the Indian company Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited. The development of the MarG self-propelled gun took eight months: the weapon passed 40-day tests in the presence of the Armenian delegation, which was satisfied with the results. The deal itself was concluded at a defense exhibition.
The self-propelled gun MarG, the development of which the Indian company announced last year, is an artillery system on a wheeled platform.
On November 9, 2022, the Indian company Bharat Forge Limited, which is the parent company of the large Indian private industrial group Kalyani Group, announced that its subsidiary "received an export order for the manufacture of 155 mm artillery platforms for three years" for an unnamed "friendly foreign country." The contract value was $155.5 million.
And although Bharat Forge did not disclose either the name of the customer or the number of weapons ordered, saying only that the order was intended for a "non-conflict zone", the specialized Indian edition of Business Standard already wrote with reference to a source in the Ministry of Defense of India that the MarG artillery system would be delivered to Armenia.
The MarG self-propelled gun with a 4x4 wheel formula is based on an Indian-made Ashok Leyland Mk 4 military truck and is equipped with an armored cabin for five people. The full combat weight of the ACS is 18 tons. The ammunition is 18 volleys of five charges for each projectile. The time of bringing the ACS into combat position is one and a half minutes during the day and two minutes at night.
Judging by the stated characteristics, the MarG 155-BR, equipped with a modern fire control system, is capable of attacking targets at a rate of 42 shots per hour. In the intensive fire mode, the rate of fire is 12 shots in three minutes.
In November 2022, local media reported that India would also supply ATAGS 155-millimeter towed howitzers of its own production to Armenia. Even earlier, in September 2022, Armenia signed a contract with the Indian Ministry of Defense for a total of $ 250 million, under which, among other types of weapons, Pinaka multiple launch rocket systems were purchased.
And in January 2023, Business Standard magazine reported that Armenia intends to purchase MRSAM air defense systems from India, which will replace Soviet-made S-125 Pechora air defense systems in the Armenian army. It is interesting to note that India has purchased some of the MRSAM system technologies that Armenia wants to acquire from Israel.
It is also reported that the Indian side offered Yerevan air defense systems of its own production Akash and Akash-NG.
It is important to note that after the end of the second Karabakh war in 2020, Russia actually stopped supplying weapons to Armenia. As a result, Yerevan sharply limited military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation and began searching for new partners. Compared to previous periods, Armenia's military spending has increased this year to a record level and has already amounted to $ 1.2 billion.
