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Reservists should also be involved in military exercises held in Armenia and Artsakh, military expert Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of the analytical center Henaket, said on Saturday.

His comments came after the Armenian army announced a plan to hold major military exercises from March 16 to 20, involving around 7,500 troops, 200 rocket and artillery systems, more than 150 anti-tank systems, some 100 armored vehicles, over 90 air defense systems, as well as aviation.

In a post on Facebook, Abrahamyan said he has repeatedly raised the issue.

“Even preliminary data shows that one of our main problems in the recent war was the uncoordinated actions of the regular troops and reservists and volunteer units,” he wrote.

“It’s necessary to involve reservists and volunteer units in tactical exercises, firing training and drills of the regular troops.

“Speaking of volunteer units, in this case I mean groups that have been formed since the 1990s, but already have an institutional character – such as ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Black Panthers and so on,” Abrahamyan said, stressing that without highly trained reserve forces, there will be no chance to win a possible war.

“Thus, reservists should also take part in any measures to train and improve the combat readiness of the army. There is no other option,” the expert said.