SIPRI: Armenia spent $190 million on military aviation in 2019

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia purchased $190 million worth of aircraft in 2019, data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reveals. The funds were most probably spent on the acquisition of Russian Su-30SM fighter jets for the Armenian air force.

While there is no information on the country's defense investments for 2020, arms imports to Armenia amounted to $248 million in 2019, SIPRI says, including said aircraft, air defense systems worth $41 million and missiles worth $17 million.

In 2016–20, the report says, Russia accounted for 94% of the Armenian arms imports – $228 million in 2019 alone – while the rest were purchased from Jordan.

Azerbaijan too has been building up its military capabilities through major arms imports in recent years, with Israel accounting for 69% of Azerbaijan’s arms imports, the Institute says, failing however to provide comprehensive data on Baku's arms acquisitions.

As reported earlier, Turkey’s military exports to Azerbaijan jumped a whopping 610% in the first 11 months of 2020 to total nearly $256 million.