By Leonid Nersisyan, Senior Research Fellow, APRI Armenia

The devastating loss in the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War triggered discussions and action regarding the transformation of Armenia’s Armed Forces. In addition, Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia’s sovereign territory over two days in September 2022 underscored the urgent need for profound changes.

At the end of 2022, Armenia initiated active military procurement from new partners, mainly India and France, and began construction work on its borders, as well as intensified reforms. The Armenian Ministry of Defence published the first official document outlining the Armed Forces’ reform process on November 12, 2024. The stated implementation period of "The Armed Forces Transformation Concept of the Republic of Armenia" is from 2024 to 2035. The concept addresses many existing issues, and this article aims to critically analyze its most important points.

Transition to Professional Army and Creation of Professional Sergeant System

The Armed Forces Transformation Concept outlines a plan for a gradual transition to a professional army. It identifies two key challenges: the insufficient quality of contract-based service members and the limited capacity of conscripts. Part VIII of the Concept proposes higher standards for officers and sergeants, requiring them to possess higher education and professional training, respectively. It also calls for conscripts to undergo a six-month training program consisting of 4.5 months of theoretical instruction and 1.5 months of practical training. 

Notably, the plan includes a reduction in the duration of mandatory military service, currently set at two years, to be completed by 2027. This is coupled with an increase in contract-based service members. However, achieving this goal within the proposed timeline poses significant challenges due to demographic constraints. Most current conscripts were born in 2005 and 2006, when approximately 36,000 boys were born, according to the Armenian Statistical Committee. At best, about 70% of this cohort—around 25,000—might be eligible for conscription, as others face health issues or have emigrated. If the service duration is reduced to 1.5 years, an additional 6,250 contract-based servicemen would be required. A one-year reduction would need 12,500; a six-month term would create a shortfall of 18,750 service members. Maintaining current troop levels will demand an ambitious effort to elevate the prestige of military service, including raising salaries and enhancing social security measures.

Professional Sergeant System

Another notable change outlined in the Armed Forces Transformation Concept is the introduction of a professional sergeant system. According to Section VIII of the Concept document, the Armed Forces will adopt the motto “The noncommissioned officer corps is the backbone of the army.” This initiative involves recruiting, training, educating, and managing the sergeants essential to effective military operations. The professional sergeant system emphasizes the autonomy of lower units, particularly in situations where communication or command systems are disrupted. It aims to establish a chain of command that enhances small-unit effectiveness. Reforms in this area are already underway with support from the United States. Its success will depend on establishing a professional sergeant school and elevating the overall prestige of the Armed Forces to attract sufficient applicants for the program.

Territorial Defence System and Active Reserves

The Armed Forces Transformation Concept also outlines the development of a Territorial Defense System designed for coordinated and proportional defense of Armenia’s regions. According to the Concept’s Section XI, this system will use reserve forces based on population distribution and available resources. It proposes the formation of  local defense units structured for wartime mobilization alongside peacetime training and organizational activities. These units will primarily consist of community members from the second reserve group (those who are not in the priority list for active reserve call-up, due to issues such as health conditions, age, etc.) or retired military personnel.

Training for these units will be continually updated, incorporating international lessons and insights from recent conflicts to improve territorial defense effectiveness. A more detailed plan for these new forces is outlined in the Concept of the Territorial Defense System, a document currently unavailable to the public. Additionally, the National Assembly recently passed legislation to formalize aspects of territorial defense.

Creating a Territorial Defense System could provide the Armenian Armed Forces with additional combat-ready troops. The readiness, training, and armament standards must match those of the regular army to ensure the system’s effectiveness. This is necessary for these troops to be effective in combat situations. Continuous training processes and consistent unit staffing over many years are also critical to achieving high interoperability within the units.

A related issue concerns the management of active reserves, a major shortfall revealed during the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The Armed Forces Transformation Concept outlines plans to establish a unified digital system for mobilization resource management. This approach is sound and feasible, given Armenia’s robust IT expertise—it could enhance its domestic development while strengthening cybersecurity measures. Such a system would replace the outdated and problematic Military Commissariats system, which failed to organize well-categorized call-ups of reservists..

Collaboration with Civilian Organizations and Civil-Military Relations

Section XII of the Armed Forces Transformation Concept elaborates on plans for collaboration with military-sports organizations to effectively harness available resources. Draft regulations for these collaborations will be discussed transparently with the relevant organizations, including civil society, before adoption. This initiative also addresses the integration of independent volunteer units, such as VOMA or METSN TIGRAN, into the Armed Forces, alongside the standardization of the training programs offered by these entities. Ideally, training completed in the licensed military-sport organization—such as general infantry or drone-operator training—must be considered during reservist call-ups or in decisions regarding roles during mandatory service. 

The concept further addresses broader civil-military relations, outlining three primary objectives: enhancing the Army’s military efficiency, boosting the contributions of the private defense sector, and ensuring civilian oversight of the Armed Forces. These goals hinge on fostering healthy, balanced relationships among the military, civilian staff within the defense sector, the executive and legislative branches, and  broader civil society. Recruiting knowledgeable and skilled civilian employees through fair remuneration, educational opportunities, and career advancement is essential to achieving these aims. 

Implementing this approach could bring significant intellectual capacity to the Armed Forces, as civilian staff plays critical roles in well-developed militaries. Moreover, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including think tanks, could provide constructive recommendations, support optimal military development, and serve as a talent pool for the Ministry of Defence, a practice used in other countries.

To optimize Armenian resources, it is also worth considering tapping into the Armenian diaspora—a component notably absent from the concept document. For example, material and financial aid from engaged Armenians and organizations within Armenia or abroad could be directed to assigned partner units with a clear understanding of specific needs. Without such coordination, there is a risk of inefficiency, as was evident in 2020.    

Improvement of the State Border Protection System

Section XII of the Armed Forces Transformation Concept outlines several key directions for the development of Armenia’s border security system:

• Gradual transfer of border protection duties to the Border Guard Troops of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia
• Optimization of combat duty by deploying technical means, such as unmanned systems, and gradually withdrawing units from frontline positions
• Engineering and fortifying new defensive lines within the Armed Forces’ protection zone
• Development of explosive and nonexplosive barrier systems
• Sheltering essential military facilities to protect them from air radar reconnaissance and targeted strikes

Some of these initiatives are already being implemented, such as the expanded role of the Border Guard Troops, though this requires a significant increase in their capacity and numbers. Similarly, new heavy fortifications are being constructed along the second line of defense.

The replacement of the workforce with unmanned systems, particularly unmanned ground vehicles, appears feasible in the longer term, given the current technological limitations, even in the most advanced countries. However, there is significant potential for expanding the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for border reconnaissance and elimination missions. Similarly, wider deployment of remotely controlled turrets—equipped with machine-guns, anti-tank missiles, or other weapons—could enhance border defense capabilities.

Integrating various branches and units of the Armed Forces will further enable the use of advanced distance-mining tactics. These involve the precise deployment of anti-tank or anti-personnel mines via artillery in the path of attacking enemy troops, a technique widely observed in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Tactical and Strategic Transformation

The Armed Forces Transformation Concept expands on its classified components, offering high-level insights into key military-strategic aspects of transformation. These include:

• Enhancing command and control (C2) efficiency: Establishing separate commands, balancing command and staff functions, introducing “Mission Command” principles for decentralized management, increasing the resilience and mobility of command posts, and integrating automated command systems
• Revising forms and methods of warfare: Developing operations tailored to Armenia’s terrain, emphasizing decentralized actions, mobility, and improved strategic planning
• Improving combat-readiness: Enhancing proficiency through specialized training centers, simulation capabilities, and modern instructor systems
• Modernizing armament and military equipment to ensure timely target identification and neutralization, strengthen air and ground defense, and improve precision and mobility. Diversifying international military-technical cooperation and prioritizing local defense production will achieve these objectives

These components and the structural changes outlined in the concept in this section represent the most complex and critical elements of Armenia’s military transformation.

Thanks to its advanced IT sector and growing defense industry, Armenia possesses significant capacity to introduce digital C2 systems. Modern C2 systems will be pivotal in driving the proposed structural and doctrinal changes, as they are incompatible with older military regulations and inherently create new operational realities. These realities will, in turn, facilitate the adoption of updated warfare methods and operational strategies.

The importance of locally developed C2 systems for the Armed Forces cannot be overstated. Cybersecurity has become a crucial concern, and reliance on foreign software in such a sensitive domain presents significant risks. Additionally, digitalized C2 systems are essential for integrating Armenia’s existing and planned arsenal. Without such integration, standalone weapons systems risk underperforming, particularly in the complex environment of combining Soviet-era legacy equipment with modern systems produced by France, India, and other potential partners.

Prestige of the Army and Education

The Armed Forces Transformation Concept’s concluding section focuses on the Army’s prestige and education’s critical role. Without effective and timely reforms in these areas, achieving the broader goals of transformation will be impossible, as they form the base of many reforms.

The concept proposes a new information policy to enhance the Army’s prestige and improve public perception. Rather than emphasizing individual accomplishments, this policy highlights the noble aspects of military service while candidly addressing its challenges, economic burdens, and inherent risks. The goal is to instill in society an understanding that maintaining a capable Army is essential for national security. Service members should be recognized as a foundational class within society, reflecting their indispensable role in safeguarding the state’s stability. As the Army’s key representatives, officers are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity to elevate its reputation.

Codes of conduct such as the Code of Ethical Conduct for Armenian Soldiers and the Code of Appearance, Bearing, and Conduct for Armenian Soldiers will establish the ideal image of soldiers and officers, further improving the public perception of military service. The policy also outlines improvements in social support systems, including military pensions, housing, and benefits for service members and their families. Career orientation, retraining, and employment support programs will be developed for veterans, active service members, and families of fallen soldiers. Personal and psychological development programs will also foster resilience, mental health and high combat-readiness, supported by transparent military education and career advancement systems.

These measures are critical for increasing the number of contract-based service members and attracting high-quality applicants to military education institutions, including sergeant schools and universities. Beyond public relations, making military service a more attractive career—offering skills transferable to civilian life—is equally vital. Greater emphasis should be placed on integrating specialized professionals into the Armed Forces. For example, the Ministry of Defence could sponsor higher education programs at civilian universities, covering tuition and providing substantial stipends contingent on graduates committing to a five-year service contract in the Army.

Another key issue is remuneration. To attract and retain professional personnel, salaries for private-rank service members must be at least double Armenia’s average income, while officers’ pay should match the country’s highest-paying sectors. Competitive compensation will create genuine motivation for continuous professional development and lifelong learning within the military.

Military Education Transformation

The transformation of military education aims to make Armenia’s system self-sufficient and internationally competitive. This includes developing modern training programs, improving infrastructure, and integrating military education with civilian institutions to reduce reliance on foreign support. Retraining courses and enhanced preliminary military training for senior students will boost military knowledge and readiness.

Training centers are planned to feature modern simulators, tactical simulation systems, and virtual reality tools to increase the effectiveness of training programs. Highly educated and professional officers and personnel are essential to the transformation’s success. Improving foreign language proficiency is critical to fostering cooperation with international partners and advancing military science.

Conclusion 

The "Armed Forces Transformation Concept" must catalyze the implementation of tangible, on-the-ground changes, many of which should be refined through experimentation and model testing. Attempting to encapsulate all reforms in narrowly defined, comprehensive doctrinal documents from the outset—and implementing them rigidly—risks delays and, in some cases, suboptimal results. It is important to have clear interim implementation time frames as well as to assign owners to specific reforms who must ensure that stated reforms are executed. Maintaining the trend for greater military spending is also crucial for completing the important planned transformations.

The widespread digitalization of Army structures alone will significantly transform warfare methods, creating opportunities to develop new doctrines and regulations. These doctrines should function as living documents, regularly updated to address emerging challenges and incorporate lessons from experience.

At the same time, military service must become one of the most prestigious career paths in Armenia. To achieve this, it must be competitive, provide a comfortable standard of living, and serve as a reliable means of social mobility for service members and their families.