In 2023-2024, Armenia signed EUR 274mln weapons purchase contract  with France 

ArmInfo. Armenia signed arms contracts with France worth over EUR 274 million in 2023-2024, according to a report presented to parliament by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. This was reported by the Armenian service of Radio Liberty.

The service's publication notes that in the document, the French  Ministry of Defense states that, as part of the diversification of  defense cooperation, Armenia has decided to turn to France to  strengthen its military capabilities and ensure the security of the  population. "The export of new equipment, military exercises, and  joint operations are strictly defensive in nature. The establishment  of a French defense mission in Yerevan in 2023 will allow for closer  ties with Armenian partners and the identification of the best forms  of cooperation," the report states. Until 2022, France supplied  virtually no weapons to Armenia, but in 2023- 2024, numerous  contracts were signed to equip the ground forces. Several joint  projects in the Armenian defense industry are also under discussion.  The military partnership includes, in particular, a program to  develop mountain warfare skills, through which the Vazgen Sargsyan  Military Academy in Yerevan is collaborating with the Saint-Cyr  Special Military School (Saint-Cyr Coetquidan) in France.

The report also clarifies that France is supplying Armenia with  Caesar self-propelled howitzers, as previously reported, as well as  15 anti-tank missiles and launchers for them.

It is worth noting that on September 27, 2023, then-French Foreign  Minister Catherine Colonna announced the appointment of a French  military attache in Yerevan to further strengthen bilateral defense  cooperation.  Already in early October of that year, France responded  positively to Armenia's request for military assistance amid the  threat posed by Azerbaijan. On October 22-23, 2023, at a meeting in  Paris between French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Armenian  Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, an agreement on arms supplies to  Yerevan was announced. Agreements were signed to supply Yerevan with  three Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) radars and a memorandum of  understanding for the supply of Mistral short- range air defense  systems. A second contract concerned the acquisition by Yerevan of  night-vision binoculars, equipment manufactured by Safran. France  also committed to supplying Armenia with 50 Bastion light armored  vehicles.