Armenia: the defence ministry showed the “Karich” air defence system in an exercise – the resemblance to Iran’s Majid – sources

Armenia’s defence ministry on Sunday, November 8, released video of an air defence unit exercise with a system it calls “Karich” (“scorpion” in Armenian). Externally the system resembles Iran’s AD-08 Majid, and its appearance revives the question of military cooperation between Yerevan and Tehran.

The Armenian ministry’s post describes the Karich as an anti-aircraft missile system. In the video, nearly four minutes long, the head of the Air Defence Directorate of the Armenian armed forces, Garik Movsesyan, speaks, as do Garik Khachatryan and David Manukyan, beneficiaries of the “Defender of the Homeland” programme. The video is a production of “Zinuj,” the ministry’s television programme, and was also published on the ministry’s YouTube channel.

What the video shows

The footage shows light desert-camouflage trucks carrying on the bed a rotating launcher with four missile tubes and an electro-optical tracking system in the centre. A separate vehicle carries a radar, while personnel are seen loading missiles and working at control consoles. The emblem of the Armenian army is also visible.

That very layout, four missiles around an electro-optical sight on a light vehicle, characterises the Majid, a short-range air defence system of Iranian industry. An Azerbaijani news outlet and an open-source analysis account on X identify the Karich with the Iranian system and write that it was supplied by Iran. The Azerbaijani outlet adds that it first appeared at the May 31 parade in Yerevan. The identification has not been officially confirmed.

The 2024 denial

The issue has a history. In July 2024, Iran International wrote of a secret 500 million dollar arms package from Iran to Armenia, which included the Majid along with Shahed drones and Khordad systems. Armenia’s defence ministry then flatly rejected the reports as “fictitious.” Ministry spokesman Aram Torosyan said at the time that “fictitious, false publications do not deserve a response.”

In recent years Armenia has turned to new suppliers, such as India, from which it has acquired ATAGS guns and Pinaka multiple launchers, and France, to reduce its dependence on Russian systems. Armenia borders Iran in the south, through the Syunik province, and Tehran has repeatedly said it opposes any change of borders in the South Caucasus.