The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has submitted a bill for public discussion, proposing to reduce the term of mandatory military service by 6 months and establish its duration at 18 months, starting from the summer draft of 2026. According to calculations, the implementation of the reform will lead to a 25% reduction in the total number of conscripts on active duty—starting from 2028.
The bill’s rationale notes that the government’s program for 2021–2026 provided for shortening the term of mandatory military service by expanding contract service. According to the authors, in recent years, active steps have been taken to expand contract military service—in particular, the “Motherland Defender” program, the introduction of a professional sergeant system, a system for certifying military personnel, as well as the organization of contract service in border military units with the retention of military pensions for long-term service. These measures are assessed positively and show a trend toward making contract service more attractive and widespread.
“In this regard, it was deemed appropriate to reduce the term of mandatory service for enlisted personnel from 24 months by 6 months, starting from the summer draft of 2026, establishing a service duration of 18 months. The adoption of the bill will not necessitate amendments to other legal acts,” the rationale states.
According to the bill’s authors, the adoption of the amendments will lead to a reduction in expenses for organizing mandatory military service starting from 2028, as the 18-month service term within the summer draft of 2026, beginning on July 1, will end on December 31, 2027.
The opposition links the bill to the authorities’ desire to secure favorable positions in the upcoming elections and points out the reform’s weaknesses.
According to the secretary of the “I Have Honor” faction Tigran Abrahamyan, the government’s arguments about the growth in contract staffing do not correspond to reality. He noted that over the past 4 years, thousands of reservists and representatives of the “Yerkrap” Union of Volunteers have been annually involved in fulfilling combat duty tasks and other combat functions.
Officials responsible claim that the reservist gatherings are exclusively of a training and exercise nature. However, according to Abrahamyan, the main purpose of these gatherings is to ensure the fulfillment of combat duty tasks.
Regarding the “Motherland Defender” program and the activation of participation in contract service, Abrahamyan assesses that no matter how active this work is, it is impossible to fully solve the army staffing problem through it alone.
“In these conditions, the authorities are trying to solve three tasks: to stage a pre-election ‘trick’ by turning the army reduction into an electoral tool; to reduce the army in order to later justify concessions with the ‘inability of the state’; to fulfill the Azerbaijani demand by assuring that Armenia has no goal of resisting and fighting,” Abrahamyan is convinced.