Azerbaijan is set to allocate more than 8 billion manats ($4.7 billion**)** for defense and national security in 2026, according to the state budget draft for that year and the following three-year period. The expenditure figures are provided under the functional classification of the proposed budget, as reported by APA.

The document states that a total of 8,110,642,200 manats will be directed toward the defense and security sectors in 2026.

This comes despite Baku’s ongoing accusations against Armenia for alleged militarization. Azerbaijan frequently raises concerns over Armenia’s military buildup, particularly expressing strong opposition to arms deliveries from France. Azerbaijani officials have even demanded that supplied military equipment be “returned” to Azerbaijan.