Armenian Army

An Armenian fedayi group fighting under the Armenian Revolutionary Federation banner, ca. 1890s.

The Armenian army's history is described to have gone through three stages of development.[5] It entered the first stage in February 1988, from the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, when Armenian militias were formed to combat Azerbaijani units in Artsakh. On 20 September 1990, the first military unit was created, the Yerevan Special Regiment, with the first oath being held in the Republican Assembly Point and was attended by the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan, Vazgen Sargsyan.[6] The second phase of the development of the army began in 1992, several months after Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union. Ter-Grigoryants and civilian officials in the Armenian Ministry of Defense, including Vazgen Manukyan and Vazgen Sargsyan, sought to establish a "small, well-balanced, combat-ready defense force."[7] The third phase began after the end of the war and continues to today.

Most of the army's staff officers were members of the former Soviet military. An estimated 5,000 Armenians were serving as high-level officers in the military at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union.[8] Almost immediately after its independence, Armenia was embroiled in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War with neighboring Azerbaijan. Intending to establish a force of 30,000 men, the army's standing force increased to 50,000 by early 1994. During the war, the military remained on high alert and bolstered defenses in the region of Zangezur, opposite the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan. Purported artillery bombardment in May 1992 from the region led to skirmishes between the two sides, including the Armenian army's incursion into several villages into Nakhichevaan.

Since 1994, the army has taken an active role in ensuring the defense of the Republic of Artsakh in conjunction with the Artsakh Defense Army.[9]

Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War

Armenian soldiers in Iraq

The Armenian army has collaborated in several international missions with the West. On February 12, 2004, Armenia deployed a platoon-sized unit (three squads) to Kosovo as a part of the Greek peacekeeping battalion. The unit, known as the Peacekeeping Forces of Armenia, is headquartered in Camp "REGAS FEREOS" as a part of the Multi-National Task Force East and is tasked with maintaining vehicle check points, providing security for the base but also serves as a quick reaction force and crowd and riot control.[10] In 2008, the KFOR unit was expanded, adding a second platoon plus company staff (bringing Armenia's contingent to about 85 personnel).[11]

In the autumn of 2004, the Armenian government approved the dispatch of a 46-man contingent from the army consisting of sappers, engineers and doctors under Polish command as part of the Multi-National Force – Iraq. On November 10, 2006, Senior Lieutenant Georgy Nalbandyan was injured in a mine explosion in Iraq but survived after being transported for surgery to a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, near Ramstein Air Base.[12] On October 6, 2008, due to improving security conditions, the contingent's tour of duty came to an end.[13]

In July 2009, the Defense Minister of Armenia, Seyran Ohanyan, announced that Armenia would send a force to participate with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the War in Afghanistan by the end of the year. He did not mention how large the force would be but did note that it probably would include munitions experts and communications officers. A MOD spokesmen also stated that the force would include medical specialists and translators as well. Ohanyan added that Armenian officers who served in the Soviet military during the Soviet–Afghan War also expressed the desire to return there as members of the new force.[14] In November 2009, a NATO official affirmed that an Armenian contingent numbering 30 troops will join the ISAF sometime in early 2010.[15] That number was revised to 40 in early December, when the Armenian parliament overwhelmingly voted in approval of the contingent's deployment. The servicemen arrived in Afghanistan in February 2010, where, under German command, they are tasked to defend the regional airport in Kunduz.[16] There are currently 126 servicemen in Afghanistan.[17]

In conjunction with its strategic allies, Armenia has sent over 1,500 officers to be trained in Greece and Russia.[5] The Armenian Ministry of Defense also established in 2004 a joint partnership with the Kansas National Guard in order to exchange knowledge and facilitate cooperation in national security and civilian affairs. It also signed a military cooperation plan with Lebanon on November 27, 2015.[18]

Airborne regiment soldiers during a parade in 2011

The Armenian military's special forces include a standard army special forces regiment (now grown into a brigade),[24] and 3+ reconnaissance battalions. The operational history surrounding all the aforementioned groups are not known. The operations that are known and are outside of standard duties such as intelligence gathering include:

• Unknown number of cross-border raids [25]
• The securing of the Armenian pilots remains and helicopter parts after the shoot down of an Artsakh helicopter[26]

The special forces of both republics are allowed fast-attack vehicles to conduct some operations and exercises. Special Forces Day is celebrated on 5 November.[27]

Equipment in the army is regulated by the Military Industry Committee under the Armenian Government.

Our name is Armenian Army (Armenian: Մեր անունն է հայկական բանակ, romanized: tr, lit. 'Mer anunn e haykakan banakak') is an Armenian military march that serves as the army anthem. The song is part of the traditional repertoire of the Band of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The march is composed of the following verses:[28]

• Armenian Air Defense
• Armenian Air Force
• Military history of Armenia

• Ministry of Defence of Armenia