Within the framework of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of Armenia’s toolkit, state funding for research and development in the defense industry amounted to over 2.1 billion AMD last year. Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan said at a press briefing that this figure represents a 50% performance increase over the re- sult recorded in 2024. Hayrapetyan explained that the increase in funding was driven by well-founded, comprehensive reforms, which have made the program more at- tractive to defense industry companies. “Last year, a series of substantive reforms were carried out in the defense industry. In particular, a new frame- work was established for research and experimental development [R&D] projects, which not only clarified and simplified the process for financing new R&D work but also introduced a new approach—the concept of tech- nology readiness levels. This effec- tively allows companies to develop complex projects step by step through a sequence of research and experimen- tal development activities. Under this approach, startup companies can begin with small funding, gradually mature their projects, and establish themselves as full-fledged companies,” the minis- ter elaborated.