Independence Day parade: Iskander, Smerch systems, tricolor sky

PanARMENIAN.Net - A spectacular military parade roared Yerevan’s central Republic Square as Armenia was celebrating 25 years since its independence on Wednesday, September 21.

Commander of the joint army group, Major General Andranik Makaryan supervised the military parade, first reporting the start to acting Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

The parade launched with the prayer of the spiritual leader of the Armenian Armed Forces, His Eminence Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan. The names of Armenian national heroes, as well as those of soldiers and servicemen killed during the four-day war in April were announced afterwards.

The Armenian national flag, the flag of the armed forces and the honorable Holy Cross of King Ashot II were then brought to the Republic Square, with President Serzh Sargsyan congratulating the Armenian people throughout the world on one of the most important days in our history.

The parade featured intelligence units specifically designed for battlefield reconnaissance tasks, special units equipped with modern machine guns, long-range sniper, as well as other high-precision weapons, a peacekeeping brigade convoy, military police units, as well as soldiers of the 102nd Russian military base.

The military display showcased unmanned aerial vehicles, multifunctional electronic warfare systems designed to disorganize the enemy troops and weapons control systems, ZF-80 armored transport vehicles and mechanized infantry and armored units.

And, most importantly, Armenia showed off Iskander-E missile systems with a range of 300 km, Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, Tochka tactical ballistic missiles, as well as Buk medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, whose presence in the Armenian armed forces was confirmed during the pre-parade rehearsals.

Also, Su-25 attack aircraft painted Yerevan’s sky in the Armenian tricolor, followed by the rumble of MiG-29 fighter jets.

On September 21, 1991, a referendum on Armenia’s secession from the USSR was held, with 94.99% of the people voting for independent and democratic Armenia.

Two days later, Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission released the referendum results: 2,056,792 (94.39%) of Armenia’s 2,163,967 voters had taken part in the voting, with 2,042,617 voting for Armenia’s independence.

The referendum was held in accodrance with the USSR election law, with 117 observers from 25 countries monitoring the event.

Based on the referendum results, Armenia’s Supreme Council declared independent Armenia, on September 23, 1991.