Former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan stated that military parades cannot determine the real level of an army’s combat capability and readiness, and that weapons and military equipment should be employed during exercises. He made the remarks at an election rally of the Armenia Alliance.
Commenting on the military parade held on May 28, Ohanyan stressed that regardless of what was displayed during the event, it is evident that over the past five years, military exercises have been conducted only rarely, unlike in Azerbaijan, where drills have been held both independently and with coalition partners, according to Sputnik Armenia.
“Another assessment of the parade is that certain technical studies should also be conducted, because some elements did not comply with combined-arms regulations, and the military equipment on display did not reflect the full strategic deterrence capability that the Republic of Armenia possesses,” Ohanyan said.
He emphasized that strategic deterrence systems had been acquired in the past, but the current authorities had not wanted to display them. The former defense minister described the parade as a political show because, in his view, the prime minister spoke on many topics but did not address the heroic victories achieved at Sardarapat, Bash-Aparan and Gharakilisa.
“Pashinyan did not emphasize those heroic battles because they are afraid of the Azerbaijanis. But the worst thing is that these authorities divide the army into old and new. The army does not belong to any government,” he said.
Returning to the topic of the parade, Ohanyan noted that the new artillery systems have not yet been put into operation. According to him, this was demonstrated by the use of D-30 howitzers for the ceremonial salute in memory of the fallen, adding that it would have been far more important to fire the salute using the new equipment.
A military parade dedicated to the Day of the First Republic of Armenia was held in Yerevan, the first such event in the capital in the past decade. The parade featured weapons and military equipment acquired from Russia, India, France, Iran, China and other countries. Most of the weaponry was displayed publicly for the first time.
Among the systems shown were TOS-1 heavy flamethrower systems and Russian-made Pole-21 electronic warfare systems. The public also saw Indian-made weaponry for the first time, including Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systems, ATAGS towed howitzers, MArG self-propelled artillery systems, Akash surface-to-air missile systems and anti-tank systems.
The previous military parade in Yerevan was held on September 21, 2016, to mark the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.
