ArmInfo.In a world where everyone, including countries unfriendly to Armenia, is increasing spending on defense and technology, the Armenian Cabinet, on the contrary, plans to cut spending in these areas in 2026. Economist and former head of the State Revenue Committee David Ananyan writes about this.
In particular, the overall figures are as follows: the expenditures of the RA Ministry of High-Tech Industry for 2026 were planned at 37.35 billion drams, while in 2025 they were 47.51 billion drams. The reduction amounted to 10.16 billion drams, or 21.4%.
Military industry spending in 2026 is projected at 4.97 billion drams, compared to 5.72 billion drams in 2025. This represents a reduction of approximately 746 million drams, or 13%.
In particular: 4.16 billion drams are planned for Research and Development Work in 2025, and 3.56 billion drams in 2026. This represents a decrease of 14.5%. 1.50 billion drams are planned for Production of Prototypes in 2025, and 1.28 billion drams in 2026. This represents a decrease of 14.1%. 53.7 million drams are planned for "Professional Personnel Training" in 2025, and 25 million drams in 2026. A 53.5% reduction. A new line item of 100 million drams has been added to the "International Exhibitions" program.
"Thus, expenses that form the "heart" of the military industry itself, such as R&D, prototypes, and personnel training, have been reduced. Only exhibition funding has increased," the economist notes.
The picture for other areas is as follows:
State support for IT companies: 29.36 billion drams in 2025, 19.47 billion drams in 2026. Decrease: 9.89 billion drams, or 33.7%.
Digital transformation: 7.15 billion drams in 2025, 8.08 billion drams in 2026. Growth: 13%.
Telecommunications: 550 million drams in 2025, 960 million drams in 2026. Growth: 76%.
Satellite services: unchanged: 190 million drams.
In contrast, Ananyan points out, the same year's budget allocates approximately 103 billion drams for the mortgage income tax refund program, which effectively means support for the construction sector. This figure is almost 20 times greater than the entire military-industrial budget.
Thus, the state is effectively choosing to subsidize housing construction over expanding military- industrial capacity.
"Which path is Armenia choosing: to rely on a consumer construction boom or to build up its own technological and military capabilities?" asks David Ananyan.
It was previously reported that, despite the fact that Armenia's draft state budget for next year plans to increase spending by 5%, defense spending will be cut by 15.2%.
