French defence company Arquus supplied Armenia with Bastion multi-purpose armoured vehicles, which Paris had promised to deliver to Kyiv last year, according to Defence Blog media group.
Under an agreement concluded in Paris in October, France will supply an unspecified amount of Bastion to Armenia by sea via Georgia. The shipment arrived at the port of Poti, although Georgia had long refused to act as a transit point for arms supplies to Armenia.
“The Bastion armored vehicles received by Armenia are the same vehicles that Arquus pledged to deliver to Ukraine in 2022 from its stock of 24 units,” the media group reports.
Originally, French newspaper La Tribune reported the transfer of 20 Bastion armoured vehicles to Ukraine on October 3, 2022. The delivery talks have been ongoing for some time, according to security and defence correspondent Elizabeth Gosselin-Malo.
The Bastion is also considered an armoured four-wheel drive army off-road vehicle, capable of accommodating up to eight equipped soldiers. The vehicles have been specially designed for deployment in Africa and the Middle East.
The acquisition of such vehicles will significantly enhance Armenia’s defence capabilities against the backdrop of the regional conflict with Azerbaijan.
