Arming Armenia: India To Sell Missiles, Rockets, And Ammunition

India has agreed to sell a lot of missiles, rockets, and ammunition to Armenia. This comes at a time when Armenia is in a long-lasting border war with its neighbour, Azerbaijan. Earlier this month, a number of deals to send arms and ammunition to Armenia were made through the government-to-government route.

The contracts have not been made public, but it is thought that the country will get weapons worth more than Rs 2,000 crore over the next few months. India has been putting in a lot of work to increase its exports of weapons, including changing its policies and working with the government to get orders from other countries.

Sources told ET that the order includes the first-ever export of the Indian-made Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, which are already in use by the Indian Army. The Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) came up with the design for the powerful weapon, which is made in India by private companies. The Army recently put in an order for six more Pinaka regiments and is also testing rockets with longer ranges.

Armenia will also get anti-tank rockets and different kinds of ammunition from India as part of the package deal. Not for the first time, weapon systems are being sent to Armenia. In 2020, India beat out other countries in the area to win a deal to sell four Swathi radars to the country for about Rs 350 crore.

These radars were made to fit the needs of the Indian Army. They are used to track artillery shells, mortars, and rockets coming from the enemy and to pinpoint their launchers and positions. Both Pakistan and China have been able to use the radars successfully.

India has been working hard to increase its defence exports. By 2025, the country hopes to have sold equipment worth Rs 35,000 crores abroad. Last year, the private sector was mostly responsible for the close to Rs 13,000 crore worth of defence exports.