Why Israel armed Azerbaijan against Armenia. And what does Iran have to do with it | EUROtoday

“Israeli weapons have played a very significant role in allowing the Azerbaijani army to achieve its objectives,” mentioned Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, who tracks arms gross sales.

According to Wezeman, Israel’s long-range missiles and explosive drones, often known as “loitering munitions,” compensated for Azerbaijan’s small air drive, generally placing deep into Armenia itself. Meanwhile, Israeli Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles protected Azerbaijan’s airspace by capturing down missiles and drones, he added.

Shortly earlier than final month’s offensive, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry introduced that the military had carried out a missile check of the Barak-8. Its developer, Israel Aerospace Industriesdeclined to touch upon Azerbaijan’s use of its air protection system and fight drones.

But Azerbaijan has been thrilled by the success of Israeli drones in slicing by means of Armenian defenses and tipping the steadiness in 2020’s bloody six-week warfare. In 2016 its protection minister referred to as a fight drone made by the Aeronautics Group of Israel “a nightmare for the Armenian army”, which that yr had supported the area’s separatists throughout the battle between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.

President Ilham Aliyev in 2021 – the yr of lethal clashes on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia – he was filmed smiling whereas caressing the small Israeli suicide drone “Harop” throughout an arms exhibition.