Calculating the Exploding Percentage of the Iskander is Impossible, Says Karen Hovhannisyan

Calculating the exploding percentage of the Iskander is impossible. This was stated by military expert Karen Hovhannisyan in an interview with Pastinfo, noting that discussing explosion rates and percentages is unprofessional.

Recall that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the fired Iskander did not explode, hinting that perhaps Russia provided Armenia with weapons manufactured in the 1980s. In response to the question of why the Iskander was not used in the early days of the war, the Prime Minister said, 'Maybe they should answer why the fired Iskander did not explode or exploded by 10 percent, for example.'

According to Hovhannisyan, the percentage of missile explosions cannot be determined arbitrarily; it requires in-depth analysis. 'I don't think we have yet conducted an analysis of the fired Iskander missiles and can provide precise figures. When conducting an analysis, we need to rely on Azerbaijani sources, but Azerbaijan did not provide any information about the missiles launched from our side, meaning that they exploded, but we don't know what damage they inflicted. It's not like we fired and can simply look through a telescope to determine what percentage exploded,' said the expert.

He noted that there are cases where missiles do not explode, and this is not the result of backstage agreements but rather due to improper maintenance of the missiles. 'In both the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, in 2016, and in this war, there have been numerous cases of non-exploding missiles. The issue is not about whether the missiles explode or not, but rather about emphasizing the specific weapon. The Iskander is a pride of the Russian military forces, and casting doubt on it is very serious,' said the expert.

To the question of what impact the Prime Minister's statement might have on Armenian-Russian relations, Hovhannisyan replied, 'Russia views Armenia not through the lens of relations conditioned by power but purely as state-to-state relations. Besides, Russia expands its jurisdiction in the region through Armenia. It’s not that they will show petty behavior, but at the same time, I believe there will be certain tensions and processes related to political leadership.'

In response to the observation that Russia’s role is significant in several important processes, including the issue of the return of prisoners of war, and whether this statement could influence said processes, Hovhannisyan remarked, 'It is not excluded, as I consider the return of prisoners to be a political issue. This is also an important step for the current ruling power. That is, if the prisoners are fully returned, then this power will have succeeded, at least in that sphere. Therefore, it could also influence the return of the prisoners.'

The military expert leans towards the view that if the Iskander was fired, then it exploded. Regarding other experts, including the remarks from the third President of Armenia that the Iskander should have been used in the early days of the war, Hovhannisyan noted that weapons like the Iskander are typically used to hit military targets and create military issues in the enemy’s territory. In this context, if we are using the Iskander, it should be used to strike military targets, including airports, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, crucial roads, or bridges. 'If we fire, for instance, at a mountain or a settlement, it can even be considered a war crime, because it was not used purposefully. When experts or those knowledgeable about the matter say it should have been used on the third or fourth day of the war, they refer specifically to striking strategic targets that would hinder further enemy actions in the region. We had all the opportunities to utilize it for that purpose,' summarized Hovhannisyan.