parliament discussed a government bill to finance weapon prototypes, cut paperwork (from "months to “days”), and grant more powers to the Military-Industrial Committee

The Committee is part of the High-Tech Ministry. Its goal is to develop the domestic military industry, approve state orders for military needs, etc.

The proposed reforms will grant new legal functions to the Committee, expedite the internal paperwork and bureaucratic processes, and deliver new weapons to the army faster.

QP MP KHACHATRYAN: Long overdue. Manufacturers have always raised these issues during our meetings.

MINISTER MKHITAR HAYRAPETYAN: The bill touches upon 4 main areas:

… (1) Financing the production of prototypes.

The ֏1.5B budget that became available starting in 2024 for the financing of prototypes will be invested after the introduction of this legal framework. This budget is new.

What is this about? Private companies that do their own R&D and manufacture prototypes with their own money are often unable to deliver because, for certain types of weapons, the government requires 10x more prototypes for the testing process. Delivering more prototypes for testing is a serious financial burden for private companies, especially when there are no guarantees that their weapon will be certified and purchased in the end.

There is a valid reason why the Defense Ministry requires numerous prototypes for testing. Sometimes they have to test the weapon for several months nonstop, sometimes they have to test it under all weather conditions.

To address this, last year the government decided to allocate a separate ֏1.5B budget to the Military Industrial Committee to fund the production of additional quantities of the prototype for testing. With this resolution, we are taking care of the legal part to allow this budget to be used. We might need to multiply the size of this budget later, but right now the companies are eagerly waiting for this budget to launch by January 2025.

… (2) The R&D process itself.

For this one, the budget is ֏4.1B. We view the R&D as the most important component for the development of our military-industrial complex right now. Our policies must promote new solutions for our Armed Forces.

This budget will reward and incentivize innovation by our companies. If the R&D process ends with success, the companies will build prototypes, followed by serial production.

R&D is not a new process in Armenia, but it has been regulated by outdated and fragmented rules and standards. Now we are setting clear rules for applying and receiving funding for R&D.

Every state agency part of the chain of approval of an R&D process will have a fixed amount of time to handle its part; they must meet the deadlines. When one department falls behind, it has a multiplying effect, it causes manufacturers to fall behind, which can lead to criminal charges, which inhibits the development of the industry.

… (3) Access to components necessary for experiments.

These reforms will regulate the experimental process of weapons. Today, the experiments are conducted under outdated standards. We plan to introduce new clear rules, from bottom to top. This will cut down the bureaucracy.

For example, just to be able to use bullets during the weapon tests, today the state and companies must navigate through a very serious bureaucratic runaround because the Defense Ministry lacks the rulesets, so to allocate a single bullet for tests, they must obtain a Government decree.

These reforms will simplify the process, and the two ministries – High-Tech and Defense – will be able to regulate it themselves. The new rules will clearly describe the conditions that will allow us to provide the requested materials to companies, what they are allowed to do with them, and the type of report they must present after using them.

This is going to save us MONTHS during an approval process, and this can play a critical role in whether the product is ultimately successful or not. So, when the company sends the request, the ministries of High-Tech and Defense will issue joint decrees and deliver the requested products within a matter of days.

… (4) Logistics during emergency situations.

[the video glitches] … will negotiate with international partners to acquire them as part of one big purchase and later supply them to our companies.

Our private companies often have very serious problems with acquiring components and raw materials. They might need the Committee’s support to acquire, store, and distribute. These reforms will regulate how it’s done.

MINISTER HAYRAPETYAN (continues): So these were the 4 main changes under the proposed law. Over 70% of the sub-legislative work is complete. We will submit it to the Government cabinet when it’s finished. It will be 100% submitted sometime this year.

DEFCOM ANDRANIK KOCHARYAN: Regarding the logistics and imports. For many years our companies have had to deal with headaches and obstacles while importing military components through our neighbors’ territories to Armenia. These rules will help them. However, I must note that lately the issues with the import of components are being resolved rather quickly.

QP MP VILEN GABRIELYAN: This is one of the most important projects, and this is just the beginning because it will introduce a serious clarification to the field. The State must invest as much as possible in R&D. Every developed country started from here, by allocating resources to the scientific community to achieve results. Do I understand correctly that essentially we are ordering an X project from scientists and we pay for it until we receive the prototype?

MINISTER HAYRAPETYAN: When we speak about R&D, I can separate three models: research, development, and both together. Essentially, when we finance a project, we are purchasing it, and it belongs to the state. We can hire engineering and scientific groups to study a project, and in the end, I won’t rule out that an entirely different factory could work on the serial production. We must be flexible, we cannot force one company to handle the entire cycle from research to production in exchange for qualifying for funding. We are also discussing the removal of the profit threshold for military-industrial companies.

QP MP KHACHATRYAN: Today we have 5th generation weapons manufactured domestically that we will eventually see in the army, although we already have some of those, thanks to 100x more interest shown towards the industry in the recent few years. But I’d like to urge all government agencies, all officials, all municipalities and municipal officials, to prevent bureaucratic runaround. I say this because one very serious arms manufacturer has requested a certain municipality to receive access to electricity…

DEFCOM ANDRANIK KOCHARYAN (interrupts): … name the [motherfucker] municipality.

QP MP KHACHATRYAN: … Yerevan municipality. The company requested access to եռաֆազ electricity to expand its capabilities to be able to manufacture products in the winter. It’s been 3 months the municipality hasn’t granted the permit for electricity yet. I don’t know the reason why. I don’t care why. Everyone must work round the clock for our domestic arms manufacturers.

MINISTER HAYRAPETYAN: For years, the companies in the domestic military industry that received state funding were immediately suspected of being potential swindlers. This mindset is changing. Today I don’t know any official from [lists several law enforcement agencies] who does not understand the importance of this industry. The issue is elsewhere. The issue is with ensuring that every link in the chain follows the same mindset. Today we have over 2,500 scientists and engineers working in the military-industrial complex. We must expand this with the help of internal and diasporan resources. //

The Defense Committee approved the draft version of the military-industrial reform bill.

full video, source, source,

Bellingcat investigators: Nagorno-Karabakh Satellite Imagery Shows City-Wide Ransacking

In the regional capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, satellite imagery reveals hundreds of incidents of what appears to be ransacking across Stepanakert.

The vast majority of debris piles can be seen directly adjacent to empty residential tower blocks and civilian homes.

Mapping the frequency of the debris piles, highlights the sheer scale of what looks like the ransacking of civilian homes across the entire city.

full report,source,

former defense minister of Nagorno-Kar…

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Transcaucasian Telegraph - Sep/27/2024