According to Arbalet Intelligence on November 12, 2023, France secretly supplied Armenia with a shipment of at least 22 French Bastion 4×4 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) along with accompanying equipment. The evidence supporting this claim emerged when Azerbaijani media released images of these French armored vehicles, cleverly adorned in Armenian camouflage, discovered on the loading dock in Poti, Georgia.
On the night of November 12, 2023, images surfaced depicting French Bastion 4×4 APCs being loaded at the Georgian port of Poti. Despite these developments, there has been no official statement from Tbilisi on this matter. Given the time required for photo analysis and evidence collection, it is conceivable that the shipment already arrived in Armenia.
This shipment may include the 24 Bastion 4×4 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) that Arquus Defense had intended for delivery to Ukraine. As per a tweet dated April 6, 2023, discussions on this matter have been ongoing for a considerable period, though no conclusive agreement had been reached as of the publication date. According to certain sources, Kyiv assessed these vehicles as inadequately safeguarded against artillery and anti-tank missiles, resulting in their rerouting to Armenia.
The Bastion APC, recognized for its export-oriented design, has found deployment in various Sub-Saharan and West African countries, mainly due to its perceived cost-effectiveness. Notably, these vehicles are customizable with armaments, primarily Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs), leading to speculation that Armenian engineers might equip NSV/Kord HMGs on the APCs.