On November 24, during a meeting of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Defense and Security, Suren Papikyan, the Defense Minister of Armenia, announced that beginning with the winter draft of 2025, the length of mandatory military service would be reduced from 24 to 18 months.

Papikyan stated that the amendment to the law "On Military Service and the Status of Servicemen" aimed to shorten the duration of mandatory service by expanding the number of contract soldiers. He emphasized that recent reforms—including the "Defender of the Fatherland" program, the introduction of a professional sergeant corps, and the military personnel certification system—had produced "extremely positive" results, contributing to the growing attractiveness of contract service. The minister stated that the number of service members had increased by roughly 4,200 due to soldiers choosing extended service under the "Defender of the Fatherland" program. Papikyan highlighted that vacation time for conscripts had been expanded: it now stood at 30 days for personnel on combat duty and 21 days for others. He added that 16,000 reservists would be called up for training in 2025, with 20,000 planned annually from 2026 onward.

The draft law on reducing the service length had been under discussion since 2021 and was originally scheduled for implementation in summer 2026. However, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the amendment would enter into force on January 1. Papikyan stated that the ministry had considered public feedback, adding, "If the law had been amended in June, it would have been unfair to those who joined the army after January 1. Our calculations allowed us to do this earlier, and, listening to the requests of our citizens, we realized that it would be more appropriate to do it starting January 1". Responding to a question about possible salary increases for officers, Papikyan said, "The performance evaluation system has been implemented and is in progress. I believe there could be no better opportunity for a salary increase". When asked about the statement by Alen Simonyan, the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, who claimed that 110 square kilometers of Azerbaijani territory were under Armenian control, Papikyan responded that this matter should be addressed by the border demarcation and delimitation commission. During the same committee session, Papikyan also stated that the Armed Forces needed to remove risky personnel.