The Downing of Bayraktar Drones May Impact Both Negotiations and the Battlefield: Alexander Markarov

The downing of Turkish-made Bayraktar drones operated by the Azerbaijani armed forces by the Artsakh Defense Army could potentially alter the situation both on the battlefield and in the negotiation process, according to political scientist Alexander Markarov. He made these remarks in an interview with Armenpress.

“It is said that Azerbaijan gained a certain advantage on the battlefield through the use of UAVs. This circumstance even allowed German lawmakers to describe the situation in Stepanakert as genocide conducted via drones. Without delving into the reasons why our military has recently been able to shoot down a larger number of drones, particularly the Bayraktars, we can say that in this case, the situation on the battlefield may change. The fact that our armed forces are now more successfully inflicting damage in areas where Azerbaijan previously held a temporary advantage may have repercussions both in the military field and theoretically in the negotiation process,” Markarov stated.

Commenting on Turkey's supply of such drones to Azerbaijan, Markarov noted that Turkey should consider whether it is necessary to supply Bayraktars to a country that is unable to utilize them effectively. “Azerbaijan has already set a global record in terms of losing an Israeli UAV, which was previously considered invulnerable, during the events of July. Turkey should think about how appropriate it is to supply Bayraktars to a country that cannot benefit from this 5th generation military technology,” Markarov said.

During the war, the Artsakh Defense Army shot down around a dozen Turkish Bayraktar drones. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia confirmed that a drone downed by the Artsakh Defense Army's air defense unit yesterday was a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat UAV. MoD spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan stated that the remote-controlled camera of the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat UAV shot down on October 19 by the Artsakh Defense Army's air defense unit is of the L-3 WESCAM CMX-15D model. It was manufactured in June 2020 by Canada's WESCAM company and installed on the Bayraktar TB2 in September 2020. The total flight time was 31 hours.