Armenia Bolsters Air Force With 10 Russian Fighters

09/26/05 09:39
Defense News -- Europe
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, YEREVAN

Armenia has taken delivery of 10 new Russian-made SU fighter jets as part of a program to update its air force, Armenian Defense Minister Seiran Shakhsuvaryan said Sept. 26.

”The purpose... is to update the air fleet. We previously had a total of six such fighters,” the minister told AFP.

He added that the purchase was in compliance with international agreements limiting the size of conventional forces in Europe.

Armenia’s arch-rival Azerbaijan has been building up its armed forces, saying it may one day need to use force to retake territory seized by Armenia in a conflict in the 1990s — should bilateral talks on the problem fail.

Of the three South Caucasus countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia — Armenia has maintained the closest ties with Moscow since the end of Soviet rule in 1991.

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