Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force
Encyclopedia
The Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force often referred to as the Azerbaijani Air Force is the air force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...

 and air defence force of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces
Azerbaijani Armed Forces
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic had originally formed its own armed forces from 26 June 1918...

.

The roots of the current organisation go back to June 26, 1918, when the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...

 bought its first military aircraft. After independence in 1991-92, the presence of former Soviet air bases in Azerbaijan helped the Air and Air Defence Force develop.

Current organization

The Force has about 600 aircraft and 350 helicopters. This exceeds the numbers allowed to Azerbaijan under the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, which specifies 100 aircraft and 50 helicopters. There are Soviet-made MiG-21s, MiG-23s, Su-24s and Su-25s, as well as fourth generation MiG-29s purchased from Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 in 2006 and Soviet-made Il-76s. Azerbaijan is having talks with either China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 or Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 to purchase JF-17 Thunder aircraft. The MiG-29 has been designated as the standard aircraft for the AzAF.

Brinkster.net reported in October 2004 that the Azeri Air and Air Defence Force comprised a fighter squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

 at Nasosnaya Air Base
Nasosnaya Air Base
Nasosnaya Air Base is a military airbase near the municipality of Nasosnaya , in the city of Sumqayit in Azerbaijan....

 with МiG-25PDs and training variants, a bomber aviation regiment at Kyurdamir
Kyurdamir Air Base
Kyurdamir Air Base is a military airbase in Kyurdamir , the capital of the Kurdamir district in Azerbaijan....

 with Su-17/24/25, MiG-21s, and L-29/39s, a transport aviation squadron at Ganja Airport
Ganja Airport
Ganja International Airport is an airport serving Ganja , the second-largest city in Azerbaijan.It is also used by the Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force and was previously used by the Soviet Air Force.-Facilities:...

 with Il-76s(?), Аn-12/24, and Тu-134s, a helicopter squadron at Baku Kala Air Base
Baku Kala Air Base
Baku Kala Air Base is a military airbase in Baku , the capital of Azerbaijan.-Facilities:The air base resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with a concrete surface measuring ....

 with Мi-2/8/24s, two aircraft repair factories, and two air defence missile units. Other air bases include Dollyar Air Base
Dollyar Air Base
Dollyar Air Base is a military airbase in Dollyar , a municipality of the Shamkir district in Azerbaijan....

 (which Jane's Sentinel says is reported to be non-operational) Nakhichevan Airport
Nakhichevan Airport
-References: Polyot-Sirena...

 in the Nakhichevan
Nakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...

 exclave, Sanqacal
Sanqaçal
Sanqaçal is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 4,108....

 Air Base, and Sitalcay
Sitalçay
Sitalçay is a village and municipality in the Khizi Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,234.The Sitalchay air base was the location of the first Soviet Air Forces Sukhoi Su-25 unit....

 Air Base.

Azeri pilots are trained at the Azerbaijan Air Force School and then develop their skills further within their units. Azerbaijan has an experience exchange with Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, and a number of other NATO countries. Turkish Air Force School
Turkish Air Force Academy
The Turkish Air Force Academy was founded in 1951, replacing the Army Flight School and with the mandate to train the officers of the Turkish Air Force. Today it is a four-year institution of higher learning, providing an engineering education to Air Force cadets from Turkey as well as a number of...

 plays a great role in the training of military pilots. The Azerbaijani pilots are also trained in Ukraine’s Pilot Training School.

Recent events

On February 11, 2009, the commanding officer of the Air Force, General Lieutenant Rail Rzayev
Rail Rzayev
Lieutenant General Rail Rzayev Gurban oglu was the Commander of the Azerbaijani Air Force from shortly after Azerbaijan's independence in the early 1990s, to his death in 2009.-Early life:Rzayev was born on March 10, 1945 in Baku, Azerbaijan...

 was assassinated outside his home. Rzayev had been reportedly negotiating closer ties with the United States regarding air force modernisation before his death, possibly including the acquisition of US fighter aircraft. The post was vacant until another officer, Mehtiev, was appointed in December 2009.

On March 3, 2010, an Azerbaijani Air Force Su-25 crashed in the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan killing the pilot, Famil Mammadli. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the crash.

On February 3, 2011, an Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force Su-25UB crashed in the Kurdamir region of Azerbaijan. Both crew members were not injured.

Modernization

Jane's said in 2009 that 'efforts to acquire more modern hardware are understood to have been underway for several years, but funding constraints proved to be a stumbling block. Until quite recently, only limited success was achieved, with the most significant addition to the inventory being a handful of Su-25s that were obtained from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 in 2002.
In 2007, however, Azerbaijan took delivery of the first of a substantial number of MiG-29 'Fulcrum' fighters. These are understood to have originated from disparate sources, including Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, Russia and Ukraine, with at least some having been overhauled at Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

 in Ukraine prior to delivery.

The United States is the most active participant in the modernisation of Air Force airfields. Airfields in Gala and the Nasosnaya Air Base
Nasosnaya Air Base
Nasosnaya Air Base is a military airbase near the municipality of Nasosnaya , in the city of Sumqayit in Azerbaijan....

 near Haji Zeynalabidin
Haci Zeynalabdin
Hacı Zeynalabdin is a village and municipality in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 20,929. The place was named after Zeynalabdin Taghiyev....

 settlement have been modernised with US support as part of the Azerbaijan-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan. Special equipment were installed there to provide flight security. The starting command points, engineering control systems and engineering air force service were provided with new buildings. Negotiations over the modernisation of Kurdamir airfield
Kyurdamir Air Base
Kyurdamir Air Base is a military airbase in Kyurdamir , the capital of the Kurdamir district in Azerbaijan....

 are currently under way. An advanced Flight Control System has been installed at Dollyar Air Base
Dollyar Air Base
Dollyar Air Base is a military airbase in Dollyar , a municipality of the Shamkir district in Azerbaijan....

 with support from the United States.

Since September 2008, Turkey has helped to modernise the Air Force central command headquarters. According to a Turkish-Azeri agreement, a NATO standard central command management center will be installed there. A great number of projects such as joint manufacture of unmanned aircraft will be implemented with Turkey in the near future.

Air Defence Force

The Air Defence Force is a component of the Air and Air Defence Force of Azerbaijan. There are some installations of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 era left by the Soviets in 1990.

The Gabala OTH Radar
Qabala Radar
The Qabala Radar or Qabala Radar Station is a Daryal-type bistatic phased-array early warning radar, built by the Soviet Union in the Qabala district of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1985 located at...

 in Azerbaijan is operated by the Russian Space Forces. The radar station has a range of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,728 mi), and was designed to detect missile launches as far as from the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. It is not known whether Russia shares any of the radar's data with Azerbaijan.

In 2006, the US provided Azerbaijani military with additional radar installations. Plans were announced for the US to modernize one radar station near the Iranian border at Lerik
Lerik, Azerbaijan
Lerik is the capital city of Lerik Rayon in the southern, ethnic-Talysh area of Azerbaijan not far from the Iranian border.- References :* – World-Gazetteer.com...

 and another near the border with Georgia at Agstafa
Agstafa
-Overview:Agstafa raion was created on 24 January 1939 as an independent administrative unit out of larger Qazakh region of Azerbaijan. On 4 December 1959, the status of the raion was abolished and it was incorporated into Qazakh Rayon...

. Joint work also commenced on two radar stations on the Russia-Azerbaijani border and Iran-Azerbaijani border to monitor Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

 traffic.

Azerbaijan has also a number of missile systems covering Azeri airspace. The NATO designated SA-2 Guideline (original name S-75 Dvina
S-75 Dvina
The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...

) has been installed in and around Baku and additional installations are near the border with Iran and Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...

. Some are installed to defend against Armenian aircraft. In terms of numbers, the IISS reported in 2002 that Azerbaijan had 100 S-75 Dvina
S-75 Dvina
The S-75 Dvina is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude, command guided, surface-to-air missile system...

, S-125 Neva/Pechora, and S-200 systems. Among them are the medium range SA-4, for short range the SA-8 and the SA-13 mobile SAM vehicles. Azerbaijan also has many lighter AA guns and shoulder launched SAM
Shoulder-launched missile weapon
A shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-launched missile or man-portable missile is a projectile fired at a target, small enough to be carried by a single person, and fired while held on one's shoulder...

s.

In 2009 Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry signed a contract with Russia's Rosoboroneksport company to buy two S-300 PMU-2 “Favorit” battalions.

Aircraft inventory

In September–October 2010, Azerbaijan purchased 24 Mi-35M from Rostvertol
Rostvertol
Rostvertol is a Russian helicopter manufacturing company located in Rostov-on-Don. It was founded on 1st of July 1939. Rostvertol is the only helicopter manufacturing company in Russia not controlled by the government.It produces Мi-26T, Mi-24 and Mi-28N....

.

With the arrival of the MiG-29s, the Air Force appears to have retired the MiG-25 aircraft that it used to fly from Nasosnaya Air Base
Nasosnaya Air Base
Nasosnaya Air Base is a military airbase near the municipality of Nasosnaya , in the city of Sumqayit in Azerbaijan....

. IISS estimates in 2007 reported 26 as still in service; other figures previously placed the total as high as 38.

The Air Force retains in store L-29 and L-39 fighter training aircraft produced in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. The Azerbaijan Border Guard
Azerbaijan Border Guard
The State Border Service of Azerbaijan Republic also known as Border Guard of Azerbaijan is a governmental law enforcement agency in charge of protecting the borders of Azerbaijan Republic.-History:...

 and Voluntary Society of Defense, Patriotism and Sport have Yakovlev
Yakovlev
The Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...

 assault light aircraft.

Azerbaijan also manufactures Israeli-designed spy planes. Among the licensed pilotless spy plane is the Orbiter-2M and the Aerostar
Aerostar
Aerostar S.A., is an aeronautical manufacturing company based in Bacău, Romania.-History:Since its establishment in 1953, the company's name has changed in turn from U.R.A. to I.R.Av, I.Av. and finally Aerostar...

. Both are manufactured at the government-owned Azad Systems Company plant near Baku. The head of the Defense Industry, Yaver Jamalov, said that by the end of 2011 a total of 60 UAVs will be produced.

! style="text-align: left; background: #aabccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aabccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aabccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aabccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aabccc;"|Active
! style="text-align: left; background: #aabccc;"|Notes
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...


|-
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...


|
| Fighter
| MiG-21MF Fishbed-J
| 4
|(IISS 2007: 1 in store)
|-
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau the first prototype flew in 1964 with entry into service in 1970...


|
| Interceptor
| MiG-25PD Foxbat-E
MiG-25PU Foxbat-B
| 20
3
| 9+ MiG-25PD in storage, total up to 41 MiG25-PU are unarmed training models
|-
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29
| /
| Multi-role fighter
| MiG-29 Fulcrum-A
MiG-29UB Fulcrum-B
| 20
2
| 50 The bulk of the Fulcrum fleet retained in storage.
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Ground-Attack Aircraft
Ground attack aircraft
Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft with primary role of attacking targets on the ground with greater precision than bombers and prepared to face stronger low-level air defense...


|-
| Sukhoi Su-24
Sukhoi Su-24
The Sukhoi Su-24 is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. This variable-sweep wing, twin-engined two-seater carried the USSR's first integrated digital navigation/attack system...


|
| Tactical bomber
| Su-24
| 8
|
|-
| Sukhoi Su-25
Sukhoi Su-25
The Sukhoi Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975...


|
| Close air support aircraft
| Su-25
| 30
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Trainer Aircraft
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...


|-
| Aero L-29 Delfín
|
| Military trainer aircraft
| L-29
| 28 (IISS 2007: 28)
|-
| Aero L-39 Albatros
Aero L-39
The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer aircraft developed in Czechoslovakia to meet requirements for a "C-39" during the 1960s to replace the L-29 Delfín...


|
| Military trainer aircraft
| L-39
| 223 (IISS 2007: 12)
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Attack Helicopters
Attack helicopter
An attack helicopter is a military helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry and armored vehicles...


|-
| Mil Mi-24
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...


| //
| Attack helicopter
| Mi-24
Mi-35M
| 60
24
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Transport and Utility Helicopters
|-
| Mil Mi-2
Mil Mi-2
The Mil Mi-2 is a small, lightly armored transport helicopter that could also provide close air support when armed with 57 mm rockets and a 23 mm cannon.-Design and development:...


|
| Light-armored transport helicopter
| Mi-2
|
|-
| Eurocopter Super Puma
Eurocopter Super Puma
The Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter marketed for both civil and military use. Originally designed and built by Aérospatiale, it is an enlarged and re-engined version of the original Aérospatiale Puma...


|
| Transport Helicopter
| Super Puma
| 20
|-
| Mil Mi-6
Mil Mi-6
|-Facts:*Test pilot N.B. Leshin has set the world record of speed. This event was awarded by the American Helicopter Society.*Small numbers are still in service, most in Siberia plus a small number with the People's Republic of China...


|
| Heavy transport helicopter
| Mi-6
| 15
|-
| Mil Mi-8
Mil Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....


|
| Gunship/transport helicopter
| Mi-8
|
|-
| Mil Mi-17
Mil Mi-17
The Mil Mi-17 is a Russian helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude...


| /
| Transport helicopter
| Mi-17
| 30
|-
| Mil Mi-171
| /
| Gunship/transport helicopter
| Mi-171
| ?
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Transport Aircraft
Military transport aircraft
Military transport aircraft are typically fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft which are used to deliver troops, weapons and other military equipment by a variety of methods to any area of military operations around the surface of the planet, usually outside of the commercial flight routes in...


|-
| Ilyushin Il-76
Ilyushin Il-76
The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engined strategic airlifter designed by Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. Intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-12, the Il-76 was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly-serviced areas...


|
| Strategic airlifter
| Il-76
| 13
|
|-
| Lockheed C-130 Hercules
|
| Military Tarnsport Aircraft
| C-130J
| 34
|-
| CASA/IPTN CN-235
|
| Military transport aircraft
| CN-235
| 23
|-
| Antonov An-12
Antonov An-12
The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10.-Design and development:...


|
| Military transport aircraft
| An-12
|
|-
|Antonov An-24
Antonov An-24
The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau from 1957.-Design and development:...


|
| Transport aircraft
| An-24
|
|-
| Tupolev Tu-134
Tupolev Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 is a twin-engined airliner, similar to the American Douglas DC-9 and the French Sud Aviation Caravelle, and built in the Soviet Union from 1966–1984. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain other Russian airliners , it can operate from unpaved...


|
| Airliner
| Tu-134A
|
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...


|-
| Orbiter
Orbiter UAV
The Orbiter Mini UAV System Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a compact and lightweight system designed for use in Military and Homeland Security missions. It has been used with great effect in the Middle East since it was first developed...


|
| UAV
| Orbiter 2M
|
|
|-
| Aerostar
|
| UAV
| Aerostar
|
|
|-
| IAI Searcher
IAI Searcher
|-See also:-References:This article contains material that originally came from the web article by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain....


|
| UAV
| Searcher 2
|
|
|-
| Elbit Hermes 450
Elbit Hermes 450
-Operators: *In June 2008, Azerbaijan ordered ten Hermes 450, choosing it over other drone models because of its "'invisibility' for the enemy's anti-aircraft defense." On September 12, 2011, a UAV was reportedly shot down by the air defense arm of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army over the...


|
| UAV
| Elbit Hermes 450
| 10
|-
| IAI Heron
IAI Heron
The IAI Heron is a Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 35,000 feet...


|
| UAV
| Heron 1
|
|}

External links

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