Armenian Official Held for Giving Details of Defense Purchases from India to Foreign Agent

Armenia’s National Security Service arrested an Army captain for passing on info to foreign agency about four of India’s indigenous weapon-locating radars.

The officer was hired by a foreign agency in early 2021 to give secret intel, according to the country’s news agency NewsAM.

In April-May 2021, the accused handed over military information constituting a state and service secret to a representative of a foreign special service, including information on military equipment purchased from India. In return, he received money twice and a mobile phone.

Sources told India’s The Print that the date of the incident indicated that the man sold information on Swathi radar.

The ex-Soviet republic had bought four indigenous Swathi weapons in 2020 from India which were delivered in the backdrop of its conflict with Azerbaijan.

This is not the first time that Armenia has arrested its own officers for spying, the last being in November 2022, when it arrested a Major-rank officer.

In February last year, it had busted a module of 19 military personnel involved in spying for a foreign entity.

Swathi Mark II weapon-locating radar

Swathi Mark II can locate a range of weapons from a distance of 60-80km. It can detect, locate, and track multiple low-visibility projectiles such as hostile guns, mortars, and rocket launchers fired simultaneously from multiple locations.

The Mark II is mounted on a 6×6 truck compared to the larger 8×8 vehicle necessary for the previous version, allowing for quicker deployment.

The Mark II can locate enemy weapons from around and transmit the data of the required target to the counter fire elements for retaliatory strike before the target is redeployed, as per reports.