Nagorno-Karabagh: Military Balance Between Armenia & Azerbaijan

[gokorik]

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

It is an anti tank guided missile fired out of a tank cannon. It is used by the T-64 and the T-80

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K112_Kobra

Armenia does not operate the t-64, as far as i know, but there have been pictures of the T-80BV which employs this missile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-80_models

[gokorik]

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

Anyone know if this wall is going to be build behind the line of contact or exactly on the line of contact? If this wall is built on the line of contact, it will somewhat protect their position that are facing elevated Armenian positions. This will protect them from Armenian snipers and will also allow them to move without being observed by Armenian troops, ground radars and optics.

[arakeretzig]

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

It is an anti tank guided missile fired out of a tank cannon. It is used by the T-64 and the T-80

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K112_Kobra

Armenia does not operate the t-64, as far as i know, but there have been pictures of the T-80BV which employs this missile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-80_models

as far as i know armenian army has T-80, I guess they would not buy something they could not use? That would mean they have T-80BV..

[Tigranakert]

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

As far as I know, Armenia did not possess the following anti-tank missiles:

9K112 Kobra
9K115-2 Metis-M (1992 model, fairly new)

"The Metis-M system adds to the usual positive qualities of a grenade launcher with sharp improvements in range, accuracy and lethality. Owing to the small dimensions and light weight of its components, this manportable system can be carried by its crew in compact packs over any distance and over a wide variety of terrain types—including stream crossing. The three-man crew carries personal weapons and an ammunition load of five missiles. One crew member carries a pack with a missile-loaded launcher, which considerably reduces the time of fire preparation and allows the crew to engage targets whilst moving. In the event of sudden appearance of a target, the operator can fire from the shoulder with the launcher rested against a local object. Two other crew members carry packs with two missiles each."

"According to accounts by Israeli military, weapons seized from Hezbollah and journalists accounts from Lebanon, the Metis-M was used successfully by Hezbollah fighters during the 2006 Lebanon war against Merkava tanks."

Now we do.

[gokorik]

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

as far as i know armenian army has T-80, I guess they would not buy something they could not use? That would mean they have T-80BV..

Yes, this is an image that was posted on page 326.



If you go down to the bottom of this page you can see on the right a picture of the T-80BV. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-80_models

They look identical so i assume Armenia operates the T-80BV.

[Tigranakert]

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

Old missiles not so old after all

The arms scandal involving an airplane from Libya ended as loudly as it began

Svetlana Gamova
The scandal around the airplane from Libya which carried missiles from Moldova to Armenia has ended as loudly as it began. Yesterday Chisinau media sources published a new list of Moldovan arms that have been sold and, contrary to the assurances of the republic’s officials, they were not outdated, but fully operational. This has led a number of Moldovan MPs to suggest that the Moldovan weapons could be fired in Karabakh.
Chisinau journalists realized that “something was off” about the Libyan aircraft at the very beginning when the plane landed in Moldova’s capital on September 12. First, it was a military aircraft that had arrived from Benghazi. Second, it flew almost immediately to Marculesti Air Force Base, from where it departed fully loaded on September 13.
It was subsequently explained by the Moldovan Defense Ministry that the airplane carried outdated arms. The ministry also claimed that the cargo was addressed to “a Latvian firm in Riga”, the name of which had not been disclosed as it was “a commercial secret”. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG) reported on the story on September 14. Following these claims, the Latvian Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement, in which it denied having any connection with the Moldovan cargo.

But new reports surfaced: Moldova’s Defense Minister, Vitaly Marinuts, again without revealing any commercial secrets, said in parliament that the arms were intended for Armenia. Then, the Azerbaijani Foreign Affairs Ministry invited Igor Bodiu, the Moldovan ambassador in Baku, to explain the situation. After his meeting with the Azerbaijani authorities, he announced that the Moldovan arms deal with Armenia, which has managed to make a lot of noise, is nothing more than “an unfortunate error,” which has nevertheless “brought an unpleasant element to our bilateral relations.” The fact that the arms were sold to Armenia was confirmed to NG by Viorel Cibotaru, an expert with the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. He also informed NG that the deal was legitimate and included missiles.
The presence of these missiles (the Defense Ministry did not deny that there were missile launchers and ammunition) needed to be explained to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev by Prime Minister Vladimir Filat during the recent Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw. Filat noted that all issues had been resolved during the meeting. The prime minister also named the culprit for the scandal the first deputy prime minister and minister of economy, Valery Lazer. However, under Moldovan law, arms deals can be carried out only if so decided by the government. Lazer was well aware of these rules. Moreover, according to NG’s sources, as an intelligence agency employee, Lazer was promoted to the ministerial position in order for him to control everything that relates to and happens in the economy. So it’s highly unlikely that he conducted the operation without notifying the leadership. This opinion is shared by the deputy editor-in-chief of the Chisinau-based Kommersant Plus, Artem Varenitsa. The fact that the deal was made with the consent and at the instruction of everyone who legally needed to be involved was also expressed by Yury Dominik, chief of the Moldovan Army general staff. He has, apparently, already paid for his viewpoint as the brigadier was recently dismissed.
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Vladimir Filat basically acknowledged that the deal between the Moldovan Defense Ministry and the Latvian company for the sale of 60 tons of weapons was conducted in gross violation of the applicable legislation. It was not based on a decision made by the government, but by a decision of a state commission, which is headed by the minister of economy, Valery Lazer.

But it looks like there is another detail that the government will need to explain to the parliament and the people: why were the arms sold to a conflict zone? This question was raised at a Security Commission meeting by the former head of the Information and Security Service, member of the Communist Party, Artur Reshetnikov. Moreover, the OMEGA agency references a source in the Ministry of Economy as saying that the difference between the contract value and the market price of the weaponry sold amounts to at least $5 million. In other words, the product was sold at a discounted price. According to the agency, the secretly sold batch included some of the most expensive arms models of the National Army.
They included 9V862 automatic checkout equipment, 9V863 Cobra missiles, as well as 9V871-3 for Konkurs-M anti-tank missile complexes. The market price of each of these items exceeds $60,000. The batch also included thousands of xxxot, Konkurs, Shturm-S, and Metis missiles. The market price of these weapon specifications alone exceeds $5 million. In addition to these types of weapons, the contract includes high-cost launchers for jet-powered anti-tank missiles, which according to the Ministry of Economy’s report, were also sold at a noticeably discounted rate. Earlier, at a meeting of the parliamentary National Security Commission, to which the defense minister Vitaly Marinuts was invited as a result of the messy deal, it was stated that the transaction amounted to only 38 million lei ($3.25 million).

Haha, we just paid 3 million dollars for hundreds of launchers and thousands of missiles? Armenians always get the best deal. Azerbaijan works their ass off and pays billions of dollars to obtain weapons, we simply get them for free from Russia or at discounted prices from Moldova

[Tigranakert]

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

Long live the Russian Federation and their fair and honest media!

RUSSIA TODAY

The ‘Great Wall’ of Karabakh
By Yury Roks

The next meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia may take place under the mediation of French President Nikolas Sarkozy. This announcement was made Wednesday by Azerbaijani sources, who specified that the proposal was made during the French leader’s recent visit to the region and that it had been discussed and approved by the presidents of Russia and the United States. However, a spokesman for Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry categorically denied the information: “Azerbaijan has been acting strange lately.”
One of the things the Armenian diplomat considered to be strange was Azerbaijan’s ANS Press reports about a wall which is being erected along the line of contact with the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh. The stone structure will stretch for almost 3 kilometers in Tatar District in order to “protect the residents of Azerbaijani villages from Armenian bullets.”

Armenia has expressed a readiness to provide assistance in the construction of the wall. “And not just for 3 kilometers, but along the entire border – so that they do not see us, and we don’t see them,” an officer of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army told Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG). He added that “it would have been cheaper and easier for the Azerbaijanis to remove their snipers, but despite the recommendations made by the mediators, they are not – and we are forced to respond to fire with fire.” “On the other hand, they have plenty of petro-dollars – they want a wall, let there be a wall,” said the source.

Though a wall can always be erected, the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, Hadrian’s Wall, or even the Incas’ mysterious walls at Sacsayhuaman ultimately could not withstand the test of time. Another attempt to break through the wall of animosity between Azerbaijanis and Armenians will be made by the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group before the end of October. According to the foreign affairs minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mamedyarov, the mediators’ visit “will be aimed at searching for a compromise between the conflicting sides.” However, it seems that in reality Baku does not believe the forthcoming meeting will be productive.

On Tuesday, the assistant secretary of the Security Department of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Elchin Guseinli, said that the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group are creating the possibility of artificially prolonging the Karabakh conflict. “The Minsk Group has been carrying an important responsibility for 20 years, but the co-chairmen still do not feel like they are… The passive attitude of the OSCE Minsk Group toward conflict regulation could undermine the authority of this organization in the Caucasus,” Guseinli said at a conference in Baku which was jointly organized by the interstate GUAM alliance (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) and the Baltic Assembly (inter-parliamentary organization of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia).

In Guseinli’s opinion, the Karabakh conflict and the conflicts in Georgia threaten international security, and the OSCE Minsk Group, “instead of supporting the just position of Azerbaijan… prefers to cooperate with Armenia.” Guseinli complained about Armenia’s close military and political ties with Russia, which are “a reason for instability in the region,” and accused Erevan of violating its international obligations: the arms and the military personnel of Armenia are allegedly exceeding the limits set forth in international treaties, which indicates that Armenia is getting ready for war, whereas “Azerbaijan is using its acquired weapons for the protection of its energy infrastructure.” The validity of these claims will need to be determined by the assistant secretary of state for arms control, Rose Gottemoeller, who will inspect the South Caucasus countries during a visit October 14-19.

In the meantime, Mikhail Aleksandrov, an expert with the Institute of CIS, declared Guseinli’s statements to be illogical. “It is strange hearing Azerbaijan accuse Armenia of being engaged in an arms race,” he said. “Baku is the one provoking it and flaunting its military budget. Baku is the one insisting that a military solution to the problem is possible. Azerbaijan should reconsider its approach – the standard of living in the country is not high to the point of being able to spend such resources on the military.”

Aleksandrov also criticized the Azerbaijani official’s claims regarding the creation of a regional imbalance as a result of Russia and Armenia’s strategic partnership. “To the contrary, Armenian-Russian ties support a balance of forces,” Aleksandrov said. “With its presence in the South Caucasus, Russia is creating a counterbalance to Turkey, Iran and preventing the West from getting access to the region, including military. If it wasn’t for Russia, the South Caucasus would be in a similar situation as we are observing in Syria or Libya today.”

As for the accusations directed at the OSCE Minsk Group of creating obstacles to conflict resolution, the political scientist believes that “it is simply pressure to persuade mediators to side with Baku.” “Conflict settlement is possible only if both sides decide to compromise, but Azerbaijan has no intention to yield and blames the OSCE,” Aleksandrov said. “It wants to gain everything back in the same shape as it was in before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is impossible. Baku must recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence in exchange for seven districts around it – this option is still available, but might also become unrealizable in another 10 years.”

“The OSCE is the only institution working on European security, and it does not matter whether Azerbaijan likes it or not… The bellicose rhetoric of Baku is at odds with OSCE policy – neither Europe nor the United States wants a new war in the Caucasus,” said Anatoly Tsyganok, head of the Military Forecasting Center at the Institute of Political and Military Analysis. “Azerbaijan will hardly be able to go outside of the Minsk Group format. Despite some shortcomings, the OSCE has strong positions. It’s worth mentioning that the conflict itself and its settlement process do not solely depend on Azerbaijan, but also on Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and partially Russia, Iran and Turkey.”

Yes, Armenians. Read this thoroughly. Especially for all the Russophobes.

“To the contrary, Armenian-Russian ties support a balance of forces,” Aleksandrov said. “With its presence in the South Caucasus, Russia is creating a counterbalance to Turkey, Iran and preventing the West from getting access to the region, including military. If it wasn’t for Russia, the South Caucasus would be in a similar situation as we are observing in Syria or Libya today.”

I again state, without the Russian Federation, Armenia would be annahilated by the Azerbaijanis and the Turks, with the support of the West. As long as the Russian Federation has interests in Armenia, we should use this potential till the max. We should understand there are pro-Western agents trying to create anti-Russian sentiments in Armenia, and we should all counter this, as this will lead to the destruction of the Armenian state. Ofcourse, Armenia should build good relations with every country in the world, nobody is against that, the point is we should improve and develop our relations with Russians, something a small group of Western fanatics want to destroy.

[burjuin]

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

Soldier of Azerbaijani Army dies in the aftermath of accident

[ 13 Oct 2011 10:34 ]
Baku. Hafiz Heydarov – APA. A soldier of Azerbaijani Army died. APA reports that it happened in the military unit of the Defense Ministry.

Orkhan Samad Samadli fell while doing repair work in the military unit. The soldier died in the hospital.

The fact is being investigated.

apa.az

[gokorik]

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

long live the russian federation and their fair and honest media!

amen.

[burjuin]

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

Soldier of Azerbaijani Army wounded as Armenians violated ceasefire - UPDATED

[ 13 Oct 2011 10:30 ]
Baku. Hafiz Heydarov – APA. The soldier of Azerbaijani Army was wounded as Armenian armed forces violated ceasefire.

APA reports that it happened in Terter. Shukurlu Elnur Arif was slightly wounded in arm by Armenians.

Shukurlu was drafted from Khazar district of Baku in 2011.

Defense Ministry’s press service told APA that as a result of the fire opened by Armenians, the bullet thudded into the rock and then wounded Shukurlu in the arm.

apa.az