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Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a ceasefire after 10 hours of talks in Moscow, Russia, but the war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region over the past two weeks has drawn the attention of military experts for a special reason.
Drones have added a new dimension to the three-decade conflict that has been raging ever since, especially Turkish-made drone strikes.
This year’s fighting, which began on September 26, intensifies with video of an Azeri drone attack on an Armenian target in Nagorno-Karabakh.
From this video, it is suspected that Azerbaijan had a Turkish drone in its hands for this year’s fight.
The Azeri Defense Ministry distributed images taken from surveillance drones where the location of the target was marked and videos of ‘Kamikazi’ drones were provided. Kamikaze is a type of suicide vest that is equipped with an explosive device and explodes when it hits a target.
Both countries have recently increased their arms arsenals. Of these, Azerbaijan has amassed more weapons than Armenia, and Azeris are more inclined towards drone technology.
What is a barrier drone?
One of the most talked about drones in the recent war between the two countries is the TB-2 model from Beyrakta, Turkey.
Experts say that the videos of the Azeri military attack in Nagarno-Karabakh that were distributed by the country’s government were filmed with TB-2 drones.
The drone was built a few years ago by a Turkish company called Baker. It can work automatically and can be used for tracking and targeting.
TB-II is a star in the drone market. Turkey used the drone during Operation Spring Shield in Syria in February 2020. Previously, Turkey used drones in operations targeting Khalifa Haftar’s rebel forces in Libya.
Turkey has sold TB-2 to Ukraine. On October 6, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Serbia had also expressed interest in purchasing the drone.
Although experts have confirmed that the images of the destruction of Armenian armored vehicles in the disputed area were taken with a barrage of drones, there is no official confirmation that the drones were part of Azerbaijan’s arsenal.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on October 5 that Azerbaijan had Turkish drones. However, the Azerbaijani government has not released any documents or receipts on whether or not it bought them.
According to media reports in June, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry hopes to receive the drone in the future.
Andrei Frolov, editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine Amersfoort, believes Azerbaijan was secretly storing the drones or that they got them just before the recent fighting began.
Drone controversy
The question of buying drones from Turkey or not having official information about their export is also a question of using technology from a third country.
Canada announced on Monday that it would suspend exports of drone technology to Turkey amid growing suspicions that Turkish drones were being used in Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to Project Canada Plowshare, images from the drone attack in Nagarno-Karabakh show that the aircraft from which the attack was photographed was conducted using equipment manufactured by Elthri Harris Technologies Inc., a Canadian multinational technology and defense company.
Turkey has accused Canada of double standards, saying the NATO ally violated the “military aid” mentality.
Using drones: attack from observation
However, the Azeri army uses more different types of UAVs. Bird College’s Drone Research Department in the United States says Azerbaijan has two Israeli Heron TP aircraft, 10 Hermes 4508, 100 Sky Strikers and 50 Harps aircraft.
Also Israel and Azerbaijan have jointly built several observation drones and kamikazi or suicide attack planes.
Rob Lee, a military researcher at King’s College London, said the main difference between the previous wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the use of drones capable of carrying out bombings. He says the use of such drones has made the fighting so intense this time.
One of the videos posted about the Armenian attack shows an anti-aircraft missile hitting a plane, and the image suggests that the shape of the attacking plane appears to be a Soviet-era attack plane.
The situation of drones in Armenia
Russian expert Andrei Frolov says Armenia has not bought drones recently. He says this is because the Armenian government has probably been unable to adequately assess the magnitude of the threat of drone strikes from the Azeri side.
“Amnesty did not announce any plans to buy drones. At least Russia was not aware of any such plans. They may have planned to buy drones from China or Iran, but it is very expensive for them. With easy loans from Russia where they can buy weapons, It’s very difficult for them to go to China there, and Armenia talks about their own drones, but they don’t exist. “
Armenia has built a lightweight observation drone called Krunk, he says. Krunk means crane. But it is not known whether drones of this type were used in Nagarno-Karabakh.
Armenia has purchased short-range surface-to-air missiles from Russia that are capable of destroying drones, Frolov said. But there is no evidence that such missiles have been used in combat in the disputed area.
However, several Azerbaijani drones have been shot down using some anti-Soviet missile launchers in Nagarno-Karabakh.
How much has the drone helped the Azeri forces?
Azerbaijan has published several videos of drone strikes against Armenian targets.
These targets were mainly military vehicles and sometimes stocks of weapons and troops.
However, it is not yet known how many Azeri missiles have been deployed in the Nagarno-Karabakh region and how much damage they have caused to Armenian targets.
However, the Soviet-era missile launchers used by Armenia to thwart Azeri drone strikes were of very poor quality. Even the radars that the Armenians used to identify the Azeri TB-2 drones do not have the ability to capture modern drones.
Military experts also say that the air defense system deployed within Armenia is much weaker than the air defense system deployed within Nagarno-Karabakh.
Karabakh defenses are outdated and radar systems do not detect drones in the area, so modern drones used by the Azeris to carry out attacks in the area have easily escaped the attention of Armenians.
Rob Lee, a London-based military expert, said the drone strikes had caused significant damage to the Armenians. However, the exact amount of damage has not yet been determined.
However, he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Azerbaijan’s use of TB-2 drones.
Viktor Murakhovsky, another Russian military expert, says drones are becoming a new weapon in combat and their use in warfare is on the rise. As a result, new technology is being developed to destroy such drones.
He says that armed militia groups in Syria have been seen devising strategies to deal with drones.
“In Syria, we have seen the creation of special bunkers or trenches to keep weapons and military vehicles hidden underground to keep them out of range of drone strikes. Such strikes can be effective in areas like Karabakh,” said Viktor Murakhovsky.
Source: BBC
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