Representational image. News18
New Delhi: The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has said that India selling weapons to Armenia is ‘an unfriendly step’, as Armenia tries to get its hands on better weapons to resist Azeri aggression after having lost the war in 2020.
In an interview with a local Azeri TV Channel Azernews Ilham Aliyev said, “Unfortunately, India is now playing a role among them. we consider this an unfriendly step. because these weapons, especially offensive weapons have a target, and it is Azerbaijan.”
What weapons is India providing to Armenia?
India in September 2022 signed contracts with Armenia to export weapons worth over Rs 2,000 crores. According to a an Economic Times report the order included the indigenous Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers that are already in service with the Indian Army. But this is not the first time India will be exporting weapons to Armenia. In 2020, India had a deal with Armenia to supply four Swathi radars to the nation for an estimated Rs 350 crore.
Here is a look at a few of the Indian weapons systems Armenia is getting that has the Azeri President upset and how they work.
Brahmos and Astra missiles
In the 2020 war against Azerbaijan, the Armenian military suffered heavy losses due to the Turkish Bayraktar drones used by the Azeri military. These drones were also used against Russian tanks initially in the war in Ukraine. It was found that these drones, which fly very close to the ground, were vulnerable to air-to-air missiles. Reportedly around 40 of these drones were shot down by Russian Su-30s, prompting Ukraine to scale down their use. Armenia is getting the supersonic Brahmos and Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missiles to take on the drones which turned the 2020 war in Azerbaijan’s favour.
Swathi Weapon Locating Radar
Swathi is mobile artillery locating radar that detects incoming artillery and rockets and tracks their point of position to attack the source of the attack. The Armenian military can pinpoint the location of the Azeri artillery and make counter-battery fires with these radars.
Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher
Pinaka is a truck-mounted launcher system which can fire 12 salvos in under 44 seconds. It saw action in Kargil where it was credited for neutralising the Pakistani army position on mountain tops. The 2019 upgraded version has successfully test-fired up to 90 km.
Multi-Terrain Artillery Gun
It’s one of its kind 155-mm, 39-calibre gun system mounted on a high mobility vehicle. The mobility allows the gun to shoot and scoot — relocate before counter-battery fire. Artillery guns are vulnerable to counter-battery fire — a war tactic wherein the enemy detects and attacks the origin of artillery projectiles. Weighing over 18 tonnes, it can be deployed even in mountainous regions like Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-majority enclave in Azerbaijan which is at the heart of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict.
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