Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

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Armenia’s procurement of Indian-made Trajan Towed Howitzers has heightened doubts about its intentions to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Recently, Indian and Armenian media outlets circulated information on the deal concerning the acquisition of these weapons. However, the specific number and delivery date of the ordered howitzers were not disclosed.

The Trajan Towed Howitzer, jointly developed by India's Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and France's Nexter Systems, has undergone rigorous testing by the Indian Army. While Nexter Systems provided the core design and expertise, L&T manufactured critical subsystems, ensuring seamless integration and localized production.

The howitzer is a 155mm/52-caliber towed artillery gun system designed for exceptional mobility, accuracy, and rapid deployment, making it a formidable addition to any military arsenal.

Key Features and Specifications:

- Firing Range: Up to 42 km using extended-range projectiles.

- Rate of Fire: Sustains up to 45 rounds in 30 minutes.

- Crew: Operated by a team of six.

- Setup Time: Ready to fire within 1.5 minutes.

- Mobility: Capable of speeds up to 80 km/h on roads and 30 km/h off-road.

- Weight: Approximately 13 tons, making it transportable via military transport aircraft like the Airbus A400M, Boeing C-17, and Ilyushin IL-76.

Armenia, a belligerent country in the South Caucasus, has territorial claims against three of its four neighbors. As a result of its expansionist foreign policy, Armenia has waged two wars with Azerbaijan over Garabagh, which is an integral part of Azerbaijan according to international laws. These conflicts have persisted for 30 years since Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union.

So, the First Garabagh War occurred between 1988 and 1994, during which Armenia invaded 20% of Azerbaijan and expelled over 750,000 indigenous people of various ethnicities. Azerbaijan initially sought to resolve the issue through negotiations, but these efforts failed, leading to a war that went down in history as the 44-day War or the Second Garabagh War. As a result of the war, Azerbaijan reclaimed its territories. Aftermath, cornered Armenia started to speak about a long-awaited peace.

However, Armenia has delayed signing the peace agreement while simultaneously doubling its defense budget and increasing its armament. To put it into perspective, the Armenian defense budget exceeded $1.5 billion for the first time in its history. Armenia has imported several lethal offensive weapons from France and India since the 44-day war, which casts doubt on Yerevan’s intentions.

To top it all off, a video of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, circulated on social networks, has sparked anger in Azerbaijani society and increased doubts about Armenia’s intentions. The First Garabagh War began when Levon Ter-Petrosyan was in office, and in the footage, the then-Armenian president provides insight into the ongoing First Garabagh War and the country’s future plans. In the footage, Ter-Petrosyan bluntly discloses that Yerevan will deliberately play for time to prolong negotiations, aiming for the Garabagh issue to lose momentum over time.

Thus, all the aforementioned information provides many with the basis to suggest that Pashinyan is following in Levon's footsteps. More precisely, on one hand, he appears to be keen on signing a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, while on the other hand, he deliberately delays signing peace to arm the military for a potential new war.