Harutyunyan has served in the
Artsakh Defense Army since 5 November 1992, when he volunteered for service at the age of 17. He fought in the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War from 1992 to 1994. He served in various positions in the Defense Army, primarily in artillery units such as the Assistant to the Head of Artillery Intelligence. He also served as artillery chief of one of Artsakh's military districts. From 2018 to 2020, he served as First Deputy Commander of the Artsakh Defense Army. On 24 February 2020, he was appointed Minister of Defense by President
Bako Sahakyan and was reappointed by President
Arayik Harutyunyan on 8 June. Harutyunyan made a call for battle during the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war against
Azerbaijan. On 27 October 2020, the president of Artsakh announced that Harutyunyan was relieved of his position after being wounded in fighting, replacing him with
Mikael Arzumanyan. A video showing a
UAV strike on a car that allegedly belonged to Harutyunyan began circulating online. However, the spokesperson of the president of Artsakh denied the footage had anything to do with Harutyunyan's injuries. On October 28, 2020, the president of Artsakh announced his decision to grant Jalal Harutyunyan the title
Hero of Artsakh. He was discharged from hospital in early December 2020. In January 2021, the
Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia announced that a criminal case had been opened already in October 2020 on the attempt on Harutyunyan's life made during the war, and stated that no one had been charged in connection with the case yet. In February 2021, by the order of
Vagharshak Harutyunyan, Defense Minister of Armenia, Harutyunyan was appointed to the post of the Head of the Military Control Service of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. As a result, his tenure as Head of the Military Control Service was suspended. == Dates of rank ==