Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

[KarotheGreat]

Re: Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

It were not Armenians from California, the technology is much ''older'' than 1994 and the first ''laser weapons'' developed were by Armenian scientists in the Soviet Union (who later spread the technology in other countries, including USA when they went to live there). Armenia, ofcourse, also obtained (and build) these weapons and used them (although in very rare cases) during the war. Armenians are very strong in physics (and hopefully, we will be in the future).

As far as I remember there was a treaty against it and three countries signed the treaty Armenia Russia and the US. Could be wrong here.

EDIT: It seems that Armenia is no part of the Convention on Certain Conventional weapons.

[Eddo211]

Re: Multi-role aircraft

So Azerbaboons seems to have aquired up to 30 MiG-29s(while only a two dozen seems to be in service so far), since 2007. They already had MiG-25s in the previous war. How important do you think these aircraft could be in the next war?
As far as i know Armenia only has a MiG-25 of its own, and a bunch of russian MiG-29s protecting the airspace.

http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/g...6061&tracked=1

MIG-29s are air superiority fighters and that is their main role...which is to engage other aircraft.

The Russian MIG-29s are there for Armenia's airspace only (not Artsakh). Our single MIG-25 has become what we call a derelict....left to rust outside without mercy. It is safe to say that it will never fly again. I am sorry but IDIOTS!!!

Like I have been saying that Armenia needs to reconsider spending more money on its Airforce. I am starting to grow hair on my tong from sayin this.

THIS MAN NEEDS HELP DAMN IT!!!


Col. Daniel Balayan, commander of the Military Aviation Institute, Yerevan, Armenia

Time is approaching for our National Eagle to reclaim her airspace above Armenia and Artsakh. People just don't get it.

[arakeretzig]

Re: Multi-role aircraft

MIG-29s are air superiority fighters and that is their main role...which is to engage other aircraft.

The Russian MIG-29s are there for Armenia's airspace only (not Artsakh). Our single MIG-25 has become what we call a derelict....left to rust outside without mercy. It is safe to say that it will never fly again. I am sorry but IDIOTS!!!

Like I have been saying that Armenia needs to reconsider spending more money on its Airforce. I am starting to grow hair on my tong from sayin this.

THIS MAN NEEDS HELP DAMN IT!!!


Col. Daniel Balayan, commander of the Military Aviation Institute, Yerevan, Armenia

Time is approaching for our National Eagle to reclaim her airspace above Armenia and Artsakh. People just don't get it.

Azerbaboonjan seem to also have retired their MiG-25. My question is will they come on strong with their MiG-29 ground attack? or they send in the Su-25 as usual.
I think they'll use their airforce to full limit as the last war, and it seems to me, that NKR and Armenia are content with just using air defense mechanism to fend off aircraft.

[Eddo211]

Re: Multi-role aircraft

Azerbaboonjan seem to also have retired their MiG-25. My question is will they come on strong with their MiG-29 ground attack? or they send in the Su-25 as usual.
I think they'll use their airforce to full limit as the last war, and it seems to me, that NKR and Armenia are content with just using air defense mechanism to fend off aircraft.

They be fools if they don’t use them.

BTW, MIG-25s are one of the fastest birds out there (Mach 2.5+)…..we could have used ours if it wasn’t allowed to go to xxxx and it doesn't matter how old they are. Ours didn't retire, it was killed by slow death. That is not the way to go for a recon/interseptor bird that could even collect vital intelligence over the enemy territory.

[burjuin]

Re: Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

Impressive.

Burjuin, you may have mentioned this before and I apologize for pestering you it you have but can you tell us anything about Armenia's developments in laser defense technology. I remember as far back as 1994 learning about two Armenian brothers from California's Silicon Valley who created a laser weapon that was tested rather effectively on the battlefield against Azerbaijan. My father actually remembers vaguely meeting them and discussing it. At the time, the Armenian military was very excited about this new weapon(s). Thanks!

To my regret, I reported this nothing is known

[ashot24]

Re: Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

Closer Military Ties With Armenia To Boost Russia's Regional Clout

August 12, 2010
Russia looks set to strengthen its foothold in the South Caucasus by means of a new defense agreement with Armenia that will formally make it a guarantor of the country's security and pave the way for more Russian arms supplies to Yerevan.

The deal, which may well be sealed during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Armenia next week, will have important repercussions for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the No. 1 threat to peace and stability in the entire region.

In what could be an effort to placate, and gain more leverage against Azerbaijan, Moscow is at the same time reportedly planning to sell sophisticated air-defense missiles to Armenia's arch-foe. The Azerbaijani government has so far been silent over this new twist in Russian-Armenian military cooperation that could further limit its ability to win back Karabakh and the Armenian-controlled territories surrounding it by force.

The deepening of Russian-Armenian military ties will take the form of amendments to a 1995 treaty regulating the presence of a Russian military base in Armenia. Armenian officials have essentially confirmed Russian media reports that Moscow will have its basing rights extended by at least 24 years, to 2044, and that the mission of some 4,000 Russian troops headquartered in the northern Armenian city of Gyumri will be upgraded.

The Interfax news agency reported on July 30 that a relevant "protocol" submitted to Medvedev by the Russian government makes clear that the troops will have not only "functions stemming from the interests of the Russian Federation," but also "protect Armenia's security together with Armenian Army units." It also commits Russia to supplying its regional ally with "modern and compatible weaponry and special military hardware."

Russia Offers Arms

Less than two weeks later, an Armenian government commission on defense approved plans to modernize the country's armed forces and expand the domestic defense industry. Speaking to journalists after the commission meeting on August 10, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said Armenia would specifically seek to acquire and even manufacture long-range precision-guided weapons that would "allow us to thwart free enemy movements deep inside the entire theater of hostilities."

Although Ohanian gave no further details, it is obvious that Russia is the only plausible source of such weapons (presumably surface-to-surface missiles), as well as technology for their production. Their acquisition by the Armenian military could be facilitated by separate plans to forge close cooperation between the Armenian and Russian defense industries. Senior security officials from both countries announced unpublicized agreements to that effect after two-day talks in Yerevan in late July. According to Armenian National Security Council Secretary Artur Baghdasarian, those agreements include the establishment of joint defense ventures.

The military alliance with Russia has always been a crucial element of Armenia's national security strategy, allowing the landlocked country to receive Russian weaponry at knockdown prices or free of charge and precluding Turkey's direct military intervention in the Karabakh conflict. It is taking on greater significance now that oil-rich Azerbaijan is increasingly threatening the Armenians with another war. Fresh (and more sophisticated) arms supplies from Russia would put Armenia and its ethnic kin in Karabakh in a better position to offset Azerbaijan's ongoing military build-up fuelled by massive oil revenues. Some observers speculate that Moscow would use the new mandate of the Gyumri base to intervene militarily on the Armenian side in the event of a resumption of hostilities.

Nonetheless, not all politicians and pundits in Yerevan are happy with the planned changes in the 1995 treaty. Some of them say that the Kremlin could exploit its security guarantees to exert undue influence on Armenian government decisions and even limit Armenia's sovereignty. Baghdasarian on August 11 dismissed such claims as "absurd."

...But Also To Azerbaijan

Moscow is facing a stronger Armenian uproar over the possible sale of S-300 antiaircraft systems to Azerbaijan. The Russian daily "Vedomosti" reported on July 30 that the Azerbaijani military signed a deal in 2009 with the Rosoboroneksport state arms exporter to purchase two batteries of the surface-to-air missiles worth $300 million. Although the report was denied by Rosoboroneksport and not confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry, it is considered credible by many in Armenia.

Opposition leaders and independent analysts there warn that the deal would change the balance of forces in the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan's favor. Some have accused the Russians of betrayal.

The S-300 systems may be purely defensive weapons, but the danger for the Armenian side is that they would enable Baku to secure its vital oil and gas infrastructure in the event of renewed war. Those facilities, which form the backbone of the Azerbaijani economy, are widely seen as a likely target of Armenian missile strikes. Ohanian may well have had them in mind when he noted Armenia's desire to obtain "super-modern weapons" that would enhance "our long-range strike capacity."

The reported sale of S-300s to Azerbaijan seems at odds with Russia's stated readiness to boost military support for Armenia, and is raising questions about its true intentions. Ashot Manucharian, a veteran politician who held security posts in the Armenian government in the early 1990s and has long been known for his pro-Russian political orientation, believes that all this is part of a cynical plan to keep Armenia anchored to Russia and discourage it from forging closer security links with the West. By strengthening Azerbaijan militarily, Moscow leaves Yerevan even more dependent on Russian military aid, Manucharian claimed in an August 4 interview with the daily "Hraparak."

Whatever the truth, Russia is clearly consolidating its presence in the South Caucasus, two years after effectively thwarting Georgia's accession to NATO with the 2008 wars in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It is now digging in for the long haul in Armenia and should continue to have more influence on the Karabakh conflict than any other foreign power.

-- Emil Danielyan

http://www.rferl.org/content/Closer_Military_Ties_With_Armenia_To_Boost_Russias_Regional_Clout/2126126.html

[ArmeniaR1]

Re: Multi-role aircraft

They be fools if they don’t use them.

BTW, MIG-25s are one of the fastest birds out there (Mach 2.5+)…..we could have used ours if it wasn’t allowed to go to xxxx and it doesn't matter how old they are. Ours didn't retire, it was killed by slow death. That is not the way to go for a recon/interseptor bird that could even collect vital intelligence over the enemy territory.

I have heard that if you fly above the mach 2 with this aircraft, it would be your last flight.... they must replace the engine after the flight... dont know true or not for sure..

[ninetoyadome]

Re: Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

Armenia: Opposition Blasts Russia’s Proposed 49-Year Lease on Military Base
August 12, 2010 - 1:14pm, by Marianna Grigoryan

Plans to grant Russia a 49-year lease on its base in Armenia have sparked heated opposition criticism of the Armenian government for allegedly selling short the country’s independence. The agreement is expected to be signed next week during Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s state visit to Yerevan on August 19.

“Our country’s authorities say ‘yes’ to everybody; they accept every offer opposing the national interests,” fumed Stepan Safarian, leader of the National Assembly’s tiny Heritage Party faction. “In this case, Russia’s oversight and influence in the region once again get bigger, despite [Armenia’s] national interests.”

The agreement on deploying a Russian military base in the northern Armenian town of Gyumri was signed 15 years ago and entered into force two years later, in 1997, for a period of 25 years.

Interfax reports that the Russian government in July proposed amending the agreement to 49 years; the lease would automatically renew for another five years if neither side calls for its cancellation six months before the end of that period. In addition to “defense of Russia’s interests,” the Gyumri base “would also ensure the security of Armenia jointly with the Armenian armed forces,” the proposed amendment reads. “Modern and compatible arms and specialized military equipment,” are also promised.

Speaking on public television on August 5, National Security Council Secretary Arthur Baghdasarian dismissed objections to the proposed changes. Russia’s military presence in Armenia may be intended to defend Russian interests, he conceded, but as Armenia’s “military and strategic ally,” Russia “undertakes the protection of our country together with the Armenian armed forces.”

Armenia is a “sovereign state, it has its armed forces and all the facilities to ensure its security,” and “only welcomes an intensification of bilateral cooperation” with Russia, affirmed Baghdasarian.

Many local analysts and opposition politicians counter that the deal does not meet Armenia’s need of being able to chart a foreign policy course that reflects its own interests.

“Armenia has no right to decide; others are making decisions on Armenia’s behalf,” asserted Ruben Mehrabian, a political analyst at Yerevan’s Armenian Center for Political and International Studies. “[O]nly Russia’s interests are dominating in these decisions, while Armenia’s interests are secondary. . . Armenia is just an object for accomplishing these [Russian] interests.”

Russia’s heavy economic presence in Armenia – a source of suspicion for many Armenians – could well influence those misgivings. Russian companies control Armenia’s energy system, mining and petrochemical sectors as well as hold substantial investments in its telecommunications industry.

Political scientist Alexander Iskandarian, director of the Caucasus Institute, though, sees the proposed lease extension as more of a strategic balancing act. Iskandarian calls the deal another attempt by Russia to maintain balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by sending a “special message to Turkey and Azerbaijan.”

Following the frontline shooting deaths of four Armenians and one Azerbaijani in mid-June, Armenian worries about a resumption of full-fledged fighting with Azerbaijan have multiplied. Unconfirmed recent news reports about Russia’s alleged sale of S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Baku have added to the unease.

To mobilize opponents of the lease extension, one leading member of the opposition Republic Party has formed a Facebook group called “Armenia without Russian Military Bases” that features a modest membership made up of journalists, various cultural figures and political analysts.

“Russia is trying to keep the Karabakh issue and the authorities under its control,” argued the group’s creator, Suren Surenyants, a senior member of the Republic Party. “These are preventive measures for maintaining the status quo. And this means Armenia will again remain as an outpost country.”

A spokesperson for Armenia’s largest opposition group, the Armenian National Congress (ANC) led by ex-President Levon Ter Petrosian, told EurasiaNet.org that he saw no reason for the lease extension, but stated that the ANC will comment on the agreement more extensively once it sees the document.

The public reaction to the base deal has been far less stormy, however. Many people say they are tired of both the government’s policies and the opposition’s behavior. Among older Armenians, who spent most of their lives under Soviet rule, opinions are divided.

Seventy-five-year-old pensioner Albert Ghazarian expressed interest in how events will develop, but does not approve of doubling the length of Russia’s lease on its Gyumri base.

“Remaining under Russia’s thumb . . . Armenia will gain nothing,” said Ghazarian. “How long will our Big Brother, Russia, make decisions for us? Most likely I won’t see an independent Armenia before the end of my days.”

By contrast, retired 63-year-old engineer Laura Harutiunian believes prolonging the base lease will only benefit Armenia so long as war with Azerbaijan remains a possibility.

“It means security for Armenia. Having Azerbaijan and Turkey as neighbors, we really need a safeguard like Russia,” Harutiunian said. “I welcome this and feel more secure with the Russian presence here.”

Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based in Yerevan.

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/61730

--------------------------------------------------
What do you guys think about the extension of the lease? To be honest i think its good because it will keep those barbarians next door at bay. Plus we'll be able to get top of the line weapons from Russia.

[gegev]

Re: Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

Armenia: Opposition Blasts Russia’s Proposed 49-Year Lease on Military Base
August 12, 2010 - 1:14pm, by Marianna Grigoryan
....
Many local analysts and opposition politicians counter that the deal does not meet Armenia’s need of being able to chart a foreign policy course that reflects its own interests.
“Armenia has no right to decide; others are making decisions on Armenia’s behalf,” asserted Ruben Mehrabian, a political analyst at Yerevan’s Armenian Center for Political and International Studies. “[O]nly Russia’s interests are dominating in these decisions, while Armenia’s interests are secondary. . . Armenia is just an object for accomplishing these [Russian] interests.”
....
Political scientist Alexander Iskandarian, director of the Caucasus Institute, though, sees the proposed lease extension as more of a strategic balancing act. Iskandarian calls the deal another attempt by Russia to maintain balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by sending a “special message to Turkey and Azerbaijan."

This Aleksandr Iskandaryan is a Russian Spy. It/he greets everything that promotes Russian interests in Armenia for a miserable compensation, I guess, he deserves. His solid appearance and voice are tremendously opposed to his miserable behavior. He is the one who endorsed a book on AG which denied it. If Russia needs to say that the milk is black, Alexander will find some "strong" arguments to prove it. As the director of the Caucasus Institute he serves Russia, Turkey and Azeri mutual interests. By the way he belongs to our old "elite" and doesn't speak Armenian:... only Russian.

I’m looking forward for a patriotic Armenian doctor who can make a transplantation of a strong Armenian backbone for the guy.

[AstalaVist]

Re: Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

Helicopter overturned at Erebuni airport
August 13, 2010 | 11:49

On August 12, the Armenian rescue service received a call, saying a helicopter overturned at Erebuni airport.

The rescuers managed to jack the helicopter, Armenian rescue service informed NEWS.am.