Opposition MP says army still lacks new uniforms

PanARMENIAN.Net - Opposition MP Gegham Manukyan of the Hayastan parliamentary faction has commented on the issue of the Armed Forces' new uniforms, saying claims that the army has switched to new attire are "false."

“The government's claim made ahead of the election that the army is wearing new uniforms is false — just another routine false,” he wrote on Facebook.

In a video message, Manukyan said that before the May 28 parade, authorities announced that the Armed Forces would appear in new uniforms. According to him, while service members participating in the parade did wear the new attire, the Defense Ministry had announced back in January that several thousand sets had been imported from the U.S. for testing. He argued that these trial uniforms were presented on May 28, ahead of the elections, as if they had already become the army's standard uniform.

To support his claim, Manukyan displayed photographs showing the Chief of the General Staff and his deputy wearing the new uniforms, while other service members remained in the old ones.

He further argued that the several thousand uniforms imported from the U.S. for what he described as the Defense Ministry's publicity campaign had become like “the leather jacket” that young men in the early 1990s would borrow from a friend for a day when attending a special occasion.

“When a promotional video is filmed, service members wear the new uniforms, but everyone clearly understands that the next day they go back to wearing the old ones,” Manukyan said.

Several years ago, Armenia's Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces leadership announced that the army would transition to new uniforms starting in 2024.

On October 24, 2025, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan said Armenia was expecting the first batch of NATO-standard field uniforms from the U.S. He added that while the standards are Western, the uniforms incorporate Armenian national symbols and insignia.