France Prepares Next Shipment of Bastion Armored Vehicles for Armenia

France has completed production of 10 out of 26 contracted Bastion armored personnel carriers, with delivery to Armenia expected soon, according to Baku-based Caliber.Az.

At the same time, the French defense manufacturer KNDS has already supplied Armenia with 12 CAESAR 155mm self-propelled artillery systems, with an additional 24 units scheduled for delivery by the end of the year.

In November 2023, the French government initiated arms deliveries to Armenia, activating the terms of cooperation contracts.

Two years ago, a large batch of French-made Bastion multi-purpose armored personnel carriers, along with components from the French ARQUUS brand, was observed being unloaded at the Black Sea port of Poti, Georgia. At least 21 Bastion vehicles were reportedly transshipped from Poti to the Georgia-Armenia border, where they were handed over to the Armenian side.

France’s military supplies to Armenia followed the signing of contracts in October 2023 “for expanding bilateral cooperation.” During that time, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced that Paris had agreed to future contracts for delivering military hardware to Yerevan. Shortly after, Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu signed the contracts in Paris.

Lecornu stated that Armenia would also purchase Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles and three radar systems from France. Meanwhile, 50 units of VAB MK3 medium-weight, combat-proven armored vehicles have been reported as part of the existing contracts.

Armenia has been extensively expanding its military capabilities, negotiating additional ammunition procurements from India alongside French military hardware.

Hundreds of Indian-made vehicles have already been transported to Armenia via the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi, including 366 units of Tata Xenon Double Cab 4x4 pickups and 208 units of Tata 715 4x4 trucks.

On February 8, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan traveled to India for what is seen as the next round of meetings aimed at strengthening defense ties between Yerevan and New Delhi.

Previously, in October 2022, Papikyan visited India and held discussions with his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh. In September 2023, India announced a $245 million arms deal with Armenia, which included Indian-made Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, anti-tank rockets, and various types of ammunition.

Beyond land-based equipment, Armenia is increasingly focused on acquiring Indian BrahMos and ASTRA missile systems, which are viewed as a potential threat to regional security. According to Caliber.Az, the export of BrahMos missiles to third countries requires approval from Russia, as Moscow holds a 49.5% stake in BrahMos Aerospace. The missile’s name symbolizes two rivers – the Indian Brahmaputra and the Russian Moscow River.

Iran is also playing a role in facilitating Armenia’s military acquisitions by allowing its airspace to be used for transporting military cargo from India. At the same time, Tehran is working to finalize a large-scale military-technical cooperation agreement with Yerevan.

Meanwhile, according to reports on Telegram, the Armenian military has installed new air defense and radio-electronic warfare positions near the conditional border with Azerbaijan, close to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave surrounded by Armenia, Iran, and Türkiye.

This year, Armenia set a record-high military budget, reflecting its ongoing efforts to accelerate militarization. In 2025, this figure is expected to reach 6% of its GDP, exceeding $1.7 billion – a significant 20% increase compared to the previous year.

Warnings from Baku

In a January interview with local TV channels, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev described Armenia’s ongoing armament as a new threat to the South Caucasus, a concern that has been consistently conveyed to the Armenian leadership.

“We cannot simply stand by as passive observers and do nothing. Therefore, a significant portion of Azerbaijan’s state budget will be allocated to military and security matters. I have already mentioned this: we are dedicating 4 billion manats [USD2.4 billion] to the restoration of Karabakh and East Zangezur, and 8.4 billion manats [USD4.9 billion] to addressing military and security concerns. This situation could have been very different, but Armenia’s arms race forces us to divert financial resources to military issues in addition to the primary ones,” Ilham Aliyev said.

He warned that Armenia’s pursuit of a revenge-driven arms buildup would only escalate tensions, while Baku remains committed to peace.

“Armenia must immediately cease arming itself. France and other countries that supply weapons to Armenia must terminate and cancel these contracts. The weapons that have already been delivered to Armenia must be returned. This is our condition,” President Aliyev stated.