Starting January 1, 2026, the length of mandatory military service in Armenia will be reduced by six months, from two years to one and a half years. The government has approved a draft amendment to the Law on Military Service and the Status of Servicemen to this effect.
The justification for the change cites the expansion of the contract-based military service system as the key enabler of the reduced term.
“In recent years, significant steps have been taken to expand contract-based service, including through the ‘Defender of the Homeland’ program, the professional sergeant system, the introduction of an attestation process, and a mechanism allowing long-term contract-based service in border units with continued pension benefits. These efforts have yielded positive results and are making contract-based service increasingly attractive,” the proposal states.
Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan added: “As we know, a number of legislative initiatives have been implemented. We have the ‘Defender of the Homeland’ program, an attestation system has been introduced, and currently, the number of beneficiaries under the program stands at 4,220 and continues to grow. These are conscripts who have signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense to become contract-based soldiers for a five-year term. I would also like to emphasize that besides being included in the 2021–2026 government program, this initiative is part of the Army Transformation Plan of the Republic of Armenia. I urge you to approve this as an urgent measure.”
The draft law will now be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion.
The legislative change was originally planned to take effect starting with the summer 2026 draft, but on October 21, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced it would be enforced as early as January 1.
