Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan with an Armed Forces soldier

Every soldier must be sure that he is better armed and prepared than his opponent, that his weapon is more accurate and far-reaching, Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan said in an extended paper on his vision of priorities of development of the Armed Forces, reported the Public Radio of Armenia on Tuesday.

In the paper he outlined that a large-scale process of equipping the army with new armaments – from firearms to long-range missile systems and combat multifunctional aviation – has already started, but this is the “start of the road.”

According to the Minister, the replenishment of the armed forces pursues several goals.
“The first is the formation of a military potential that will not only curb the enemy’s revanchist ambitions, prevent the temptation to launch large-scale hostilities, but also quickly deprive them of the ability to wage war. This potential is also called tho push ultimatums, preconditions and threats out of the negotiation process on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” the Defense Minister said.

Second, he said, the process is aimed at equipping the units of the Armed Forces with mobile, modern and high-precision weapons that will operate in the field of automatic control and will ensure the decentralized independent operations of the units.

“Emphasizing the qualitative rather than the quantitative indicators, the types of armaments and military equipment obtained as a result of the upgrade should exceed the existing weapons and military equipment with their firepower and accuracy, mobility, protection and rapid response capacities,” the Defense Minister added.

Minister Tonoyan said, the goal of the upgrade is to achieve a long-lasting and easy exploitation of armaments and military equipment, requiring fewer human resources.