Baku used drones not previously known to be in its arsenal: EurasiaNet

PanARMENIAN.Net - The recent surge of violence in Nagorno Karabakh has brought attention to Azerbaijan's increased reliance on arms from Israel, including two types of drones not previously known to be in Baku's arsenal, EurasiaNet says.

In one case, Azerbaijan used a "Harop" loitering munition, known somewhat fancifully as a "kamikaze drone" because it is itself the bomb. On April 4, the Harop hit a bus carrying soldiers to the front and killed five or six of them. It was believed to be the first ever combat use of the system anywhere, reported Jane's Defence Weekly. Azerbaijan sources claim to have used the Harop in other attacks, as well.

In another episode, the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh released photos of a ThunderB surveillance drone that they shot down on April 2.

And in a third episode, Azerbaijani sources claimed to have used Israeli-made Spike missiles.

None of these weapons were previously reported to be operated by Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan's arms purchases from Israel have gotten a lot of attention, including a whopping $1.6 billion deal signed in 2012.

The parties to the Karabakh conflict agreed on a bilateral ceasefire along the contact line which came into force at midday, April 5.

Prior to that, on the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 44 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 122 were wounded in the course of military operations.

As of April 5, the Azerbaijani side has lost 26 tanks and 4 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as 1 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, 1 engineering vehicle, 2 military helicopters and 11 unmanned aerial vehicles. The Azerbaijani side has admitted the loss of 31 fighters, 1 helicopter and 1 unmanned drones, whereas the Armenian side's photo and video materials show dozens of killed Azerbaijani troops, 1 helicopter and 3 UAVs.

14 Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.