Baku asked Israeli firm to display drone strike against Armenian post

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Israeli Defense Ministry is checking reports that Aeronautics Defense Systems had been asked by Azerbaijan to carry out a live demonstration of an armed unmanned aerial vehicle against an Armenian military position.

The Israeli daily Maariv reported on Sunday, August 13 that a team belonging to the Israeli defense company arrived in Baku to finalize a contract for the sale of its Orbiter 1K UAV when they were asked to strike the position. According to the report the two Israeli pilots operating the UAV refused to hit the position and senior representatives of the company took control and operated the craft themselves, ultimately missing their targets.

The Defense Ministry said that while “as a rule, the Defense Ministry does not make it a practice to comment on issues involving military exports, the claim is being examined by the relevant parties at the ministry.”

Aeronautics Defense Systems for their part strongly denied that the event ever occurred claiming that “Aeronautics never performs demonstrations using live fire and that was true in this case as well” and that the operation of the craft is carried out by the purchaser and whatever occurs is the purchaser’s responsibility.

According to Maariv, two senior members of the delegation who were present allegedly tried to persuade the two pilots - who refused to operate the drone against Armenian positions - to change their minds, threatened to punish them and explained that their refusal to comply with the request would harm the company's chances of winning a contract. The two officials had to demonstrate a drone strike themselves, but apparently because of their lack of proficiency in operating the drones, the aircraft missed the target, with no casualties or damage registered as a result.

Aeronautics’s Orbiter 1K is a loitering suicide drone capable of carrying a 1 to 2 kg. special explosive payload.

Azerbaijan has become a major recipient of Israeli military hardware in recent years. In 2012 Jerusalem and Baku signed a $1.4 billion deal which focused on drones and missile defense systems. A year earlier Aeronautics opened a factory in Azerbaijan to build the company’s Aerostar and Orbiter UAVs.