Armenia, India establish new military cooperation framework

(Horizon Media / YEREVAN) – Armenia and India have taken another step toward expanding their military partnership, establishing a new framework for direct cooperation between the General Staffs of their armed forces.

Armenia’s First Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Edvard Asryan, met with Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh in Yerevan on Monday as part of Singh’s official visit to Armenia.

The two officials discussed the current state and prospects of Armenian-Indian defence cooperation. Under an agreement reached previously, Asryan and Singh also exchanged a document formally establishing a new format for cooperation between the General Staffs of the two countries, the Armenian Defence Ministry said.

The meeting followed talks earlier in the day between Singh and Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikyan. Those discussions covered bilateral defence cooperation, including military-technical ties, as well as regional and international security issues. Singh arrived in Armenia on August 16 for an official visit aimed at discussing the future direction of defence and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

The visit comes amid a significant expansion of Armenia-India defence relations, which in recent years have developed beyond arms purchases to include regular institutional contacts, military education, training and exchanges between defence officials.

The two countries held their first formal defence consultations in Yerevan in May 2024. Those talks resulted in the approval of an Armenia-India Defence Ministries Cooperation Plan for 2024-2025 and an agreement to establish a joint working group on bilateral defence cooperation. The consultations covered military-technical cooperation, military education, combat training and the exchange of professional experience.

Military-to-military contacts have continued to expand since then. In January 2025, Papikyan welcomed Group Captain Manish Tolani as India’s first resident defence attaché in Yerevan, a move the Armenian Defence Ministry described as significant for strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Asryan also travelled to India in April 2026, where he held talks with Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Singh. The Armenian delegation reviewed progress under the bilateral cooperation plan and reached agreements aimed at deepening cooperation in professional military fields.

Military-technical cooperation has meanwhile become one of the most visible elements of the relationship. One of the earlier major transactions was Armenia’s approximately $40 million acquisition of four Indian-made Swathi weapon-locating radar systems. Since 2022, the two countries have broadened their defence procurement relationship to additional weapons systems.

India confirmed another major milestone in January 2026, when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh formally flagged off the first tranche of Guided Pinaka rockets destined for Armenia, underscoring Armenia’s growing role as a market for India’s expanding defence industry.

The closer relationship with India is also part of Yerevan’s broader effort to diversify its military partnerships and sources of defence equipment. Armenian officials have publicly identified India, along with France and other countries, as part of that diversification policy.

The newly established General Staff cooperation mechanism signals a further institutionalization of those ties, expanding a relationship that initially drew attention primarily for defence procurement into more regular and structured military-to-military cooperation.