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ARMENIA DISPLAYS SOPHISTICATED AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS
Emil Danielyan
Georgian Daily
http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20873&Itemid=132
Georgia
Jan 20 2011
After several years of silence on the issue, Armenia has officially
confirmed the existence of the sophisticated Russian-supplied S-300
air defense system in its military arsenal and demonstrated this by
broadcasting video evidence.
The authorities in Yerevan have also approved a five-year plan to
modernize the Armenian armed forces, which envisages the acquisition
of precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles.
These developments reflect Armenia's intensifying arms race with
Azerbaijan in the unresolved conflict over Karabakh. They were
clearly made possible by a further deepening of Russian-Armenian
military ties that led to the signing of a new defense agreement
between Moscow and Yerevan in August 2010. The accord signed during
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's state visit to Armenia extended
Russia's lease on a military base in the country by 24 years, until
2044, and upgraded its security mission. It also commits Moscow to
supplying the Armenian army with "modern and compatible weaponry and
(special) military hardware" (Armenian Public Television, December 25).
Moscow had significantly reinforced the combat capacity of the
Russian base, headquartered in the northern Armenian city of Gyumri,
by deploying a division of S-300 systems and two dozen MiG-29 fighter
jets there in the late 1990's. The two countries agreed to jointly
defend Armenia's airspace in the same period. Their integrated air
defense system was given a "regional" status by the Russian-led
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in early 2007.
Moreover, in 2007, Russian military officials first indicated that the
Armenian military had its own S-300's. The then commander-in-chief
of the Russian Air Force, Colonel-General Vladimir Mikhailov, said
that Moscow was modernizing Armenian air defense capabilities
and would continue doing so in future. Mikhailov's deputy,
Lieutenant-General Aytech Bizhev, revealed that as part of that
assistance, Armenian officers had been trained to operate the
long-range S-300 surface-to-air missile system known for its precision
(www.armenialiberty.org, 15 February 2007).
It was not until December 20, 2010 that Yerevan explicitly confirmed
possessing S-300's. In a written statement, the Armenian defense
ministry stated that Defense Minister, Seyran Ohanian, visited an
anti-aircraft military unit and "familiarized himself with the work of
the state-of-the-art S-300 air-defense systems." The statement added
that Ohanian also inaugurated a new Russian-Armenian "air-defense
command point" featuring S-300's.
Five days later, the ministry aired on state television a ten-minute
report showcasing the Russian-made systems, test-firing missiles in an
undisclosed location in Armenia and providing a detailed description
of their technical-tactical characteristics. The footage also featured
an excerpt from a speech delivered by Ohanian to military personnel.
"We have acquired new means [of air defense] ... and those acquisitions
will be expanded in 2011. The air defenses of our enemies do not
have means of this type and quantity," Ohanian said (Armenian Public
Television, December 25).
Neither Ohanian, nor other military officials specified precisely when
the Armenian military received the S-300's or at what cost. Armenia's
official defense budget in 2010 was an equivalent of about $400
million, a sum comparable to the market price of two or more S-300
divisions. Moscow is thus likely to have delivered the systems to
its main regional ally at a knockdown price or even free of charge.
Earlier in December 2010, Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan,
and the National Security Council approved the State Program of
Developing Weaponry and Military Hardware in 2011-2015. Sargsyan's
office released few details of the modernization plan, saying only
that the Armenian army will procure more "state-of-the-art weapons"
(Statement by the Armenian presidential press service, December 11).
The modernization plan is essentially based on two documents approved
in August 2010 by an ad hoc government task force. Ohanian told
journalists then that Armenia will enhance its "long-range strike
capacity" and will be able to "thwart enemy movements deep inside the
entire theater of hostilities." Ohanian did not deny that the planned
arms acquisitions are a response to the ongoing military build-up in
Azerbaijan and Baku's growing threats to resolve the Karabakh conflict
by force (www.lragir.am, August 10). Azerbaijani defense spending,
fuelled by the country's massive oil revenues, is projected to total
over $3 billion and will slightly surpass Armenia's entire state
budget in 2011.
In a subsequent interview with Radio Free Europe's Armenian service,
Ohanian noted that the precision-guided weapons sought by Yerevan
would potentially target the "strategic facilities" of Armenia's
hostile neighbors. The Armenian military is believed to already
possess short-range tactical missiles capable of striking military
and civilian targets in Azerbaijan (RFE/RL, December 13).
The linkage between the military modernization plan and the
Russian-Armenian defense pact was effectively acknowledged by Artur
Baghdasarian, the Secretary of the National Security Council.
Baghdasarian also reaffirmed the two governments' intention to set
up joint defense ventures to be based in Armenia. The Kremlin called
into question its supposedly pro-Armenian stance when it pointedly
declined to refute, prior to Medvedev's visit to Yerevan, Russian press
reports that it also plans to sell S-300's to Azerbaijan. Armenian
opposition figures and commentators voiced serious concerns about this
possibility, saying that it would change the balance of forces in the
conflict zone in Azerbaijan's favor. Armenian officials dismissed
such fears, with Ohanian claiming that his forces "know the ways
of reducing the effectiveness of such systems" (Armenian Public
Television, December 25).
Whatever the reality, Yerevan sees no option other than to
continue relying heavily on military cooperation with Moscow. With
internationally mediated Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks remaining
deadlocked and the vast majority of Armenians still strongly opposed to
any peaceful settlement that would place Karabakh under Azeri control,
Armenia currently seems to lack viable policy alternatives.
Source: http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/
From: A. Papazian
Emil Danielyan
Georgian Daily
http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20873&Itemid=132
Georgia
Jan 20 2011
After several years of silence on the issue, Armenia has officially
confirmed the existence of the sophisticated Russian-supplied S-300
air defense system in its military arsenal and demonstrated this by
broadcasting video evidence.
The authorities in Yerevan have also approved a five-year plan to
modernize the Armenian armed forces, which envisages the acquisition
of precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles.
These developments reflect Armenia's intensifying arms race with
Azerbaijan in the unresolved conflict over Karabakh. They were
clearly made possible by a further deepening of Russian-Armenian
military ties that led to the signing of a new defense agreement
between Moscow and Yerevan in August 2010. The accord signed during
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's state visit to Armenia extended
Russia's lease on a military base in the country by 24 years, until
2044, and upgraded its security mission. It also commits Moscow to
supplying the Armenian army with "modern and compatible weaponry and
(special) military hardware" (Armenian Public Television, December 25).
Moscow had significantly reinforced the combat capacity of the
Russian base, headquartered in the northern Armenian city of Gyumri,
by deploying a division of S-300 systems and two dozen MiG-29 fighter
jets there in the late 1990's. The two countries agreed to jointly
defend Armenia's airspace in the same period. Their integrated air
defense system was given a "regional" status by the Russian-led
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in early 2007.
Moreover, in 2007, Russian military officials first indicated that the
Armenian military had its own S-300's. The then commander-in-chief
of the Russian Air Force, Colonel-General Vladimir Mikhailov, said
that Moscow was modernizing Armenian air defense capabilities
and would continue doing so in future. Mikhailov's deputy,
Lieutenant-General Aytech Bizhev, revealed that as part of that
assistance, Armenian officers had been trained to operate the
long-range S-300 surface-to-air missile system known for its precision
(www.armenialiberty.org, 15 February 2007).
It was not until December 20, 2010 that Yerevan explicitly confirmed
possessing S-300's. In a written statement, the Armenian defense
ministry stated that Defense Minister, Seyran Ohanian, visited an
anti-aircraft military unit and "familiarized himself with the work of
the state-of-the-art S-300 air-defense systems." The statement added
that Ohanian also inaugurated a new Russian-Armenian "air-defense
command point" featuring S-300's.
Five days later, the ministry aired on state television a ten-minute
report showcasing the Russian-made systems, test-firing missiles in an
undisclosed location in Armenia and providing a detailed description
of their technical-tactical characteristics. The footage also featured
an excerpt from a speech delivered by Ohanian to military personnel.
"We have acquired new means [of air defense] ... and those acquisitions
will be expanded in 2011. The air defenses of our enemies do not
have means of this type and quantity," Ohanian said (Armenian Public
Television, December 25).
Neither Ohanian, nor other military officials specified precisely when
the Armenian military received the S-300's or at what cost. Armenia's
official defense budget in 2010 was an equivalent of about $400
million, a sum comparable to the market price of two or more S-300
divisions. Moscow is thus likely to have delivered the systems to
its main regional ally at a knockdown price or even free of charge.
Earlier in December 2010, Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan,
and the National Security Council approved the State Program of
Developing Weaponry and Military Hardware in 2011-2015. Sargsyan's
office released few details of the modernization plan, saying only
that the Armenian army will procure more "state-of-the-art weapons"
(Statement by the Armenian presidential press service, December 11).
The modernization plan is essentially based on two documents approved
in August 2010 by an ad hoc government task force. Ohanian told
journalists then that Armenia will enhance its "long-range strike
capacity" and will be able to "thwart enemy movements deep inside the
entire theater of hostilities." Ohanian did not deny that the planned
arms acquisitions are a response to the ongoing military build-up in
Azerbaijan and Baku's growing threats to resolve the Karabakh conflict
by force (www.lragir.am, August 10). Azerbaijani defense spending,
fuelled by the country's massive oil revenues, is projected to total
over $3 billion and will slightly surpass Armenia's entire state
budget in 2011.
In a subsequent interview with Radio Free Europe's Armenian service,
Ohanian noted that the precision-guided weapons sought by Yerevan
would potentially target the "strategic facilities" of Armenia's
hostile neighbors. The Armenian military is believed to already
possess short-range tactical missiles capable of striking military
and civilian targets in Azerbaijan (RFE/RL, December 13).
The linkage between the military modernization plan and the
Russian-Armenian defense pact was effectively acknowledged by Artur
Baghdasarian, the Secretary of the National Security Council.
Baghdasarian also reaffirmed the two governments' intention to set
up joint defense ventures to be based in Armenia. The Kremlin called
into question its supposedly pro-Armenian stance when it pointedly
declined to refute, prior to Medvedev's visit to Yerevan, Russian press
reports that it also plans to sell S-300's to Azerbaijan. Armenian
opposition figures and commentators voiced serious concerns about this
possibility, saying that it would change the balance of forces in the
conflict zone in Azerbaijan's favor. Armenian officials dismissed
such fears, with Ohanian claiming that his forces "know the ways
of reducing the effectiveness of such systems" (Armenian Public
Television, December 25).
Whatever the reality, Yerevan sees no option other than to
continue relying heavily on military cooperation with Moscow. With
internationally mediated Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks remaining
deadlocked and the vast majority of Armenians still strongly opposed to
any peaceful settlement that would place Karabakh under Azeri control,
Armenia currently seems to lack viable policy alternatives.
Source: http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/
From: A. Papazian