Air defense is a matter of life and death for Armenia, said former head of Israel’s air defense system Zvika Haimovich in an interview with Zham.

He stressed the need to develop a new security concept. Referring to the 2020 44-day war and the reasons behind Armenia’s defeat, the Israeli expert noted that Armenia should have drawn major lessons from it, reports Panorama.am.

“The fact that the sky was not protected and that new threats emerged from UAVs, which caused significant damage to the state, is undeniable. Such dangers cannot be ignored. If you have knowledge, it must serve the state and its interests and goals. If Armenia had properly built its defense, of course, the war would have had a different outcome. But unfortunately, the outcome was very dramatic,” he said.

Khaimovich is currently part of the security team of the Strong Armenia party as an expert.

He noted that he has arrived in Armenia to provide strategic advice, analyze the situation, and develop new approaches aimed at the country’s future.

“I have come to provide strategic guidance, clarify the situation, and build a new strategy and philosophy that we are trying to implement in Armenia for its future. We must build new concepts and models that will withstand future challenges and threats. I believe that strength and peace are interconnected. A strong state can achieve peace; a weak one cannot—they are linked to each other,” the expert said.

Earlier, the Strong Armenia party presented its “Strong Peace” security program by its prime ministerial candidate Samvel Karapetyan, with participation of invited international experts.