Wednesday, July 2 2014

Azerbaijan purchased about 1,000 new missile-artillery systems over the past twelve years.

According to APA's survey conducted basing on the UN Register of Conventional Arms and data of separate production companies, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces strengthening the inventory with new artillery systems stands the first in the former Soviet Union for its capabilities.  Some Azerbaijan's missile-artillery systems have a range of 150 km. Longer range missile systems are expected to be included in the inventory in the near future.

Azerbaijan ordered more artillery systems from Russia during this period. Azerbaijan ordered more than 500 various caliber artillery systems from Russia and some of them (454 pieces, according to the UN Register of Conventional Arms) have already been delivered to Baku.

Azerbaijan ordered and purchased from Russia 120 mm caliber 2S12 Sani mortars, 18 units of MSTA-S self-propelled howitzers, 18 TOS-1A Solntsepyok heavy flamethrowers, 18 2S31 Vena self-propelled howitzers, 26 2S9 Nona-S self-propelled mortars, 18 9A52 Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers.  Azerbaijan purchased from Ukraine 294 various artillery systems during the reporting period. The UN Register of Conventional Arms reports that in 2002-2013, Baku purchased from Ukraine 12 9 Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, 85 PM-38 mortars, 72 MT-12 guns, 54 2S1 Gvozdika and 16 2S3 Acacia self-propelled howitzers.

Azerbaijan also bought 3 Complex Tochka-U tactical missiles.  132 artillery systems that Azerbaijan purchased from Belarus include 12 2S7 Pion self-propelled guns with 203 mm caliber and 120 D-30 howitzers.

Moreover, it purchased from Bulgaria 36 M-46 guns, from Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 RAK-12 multiple rocket launchers.

During the reporting period, Azerbaijan has expanded the means of its artillery troops by purchasing from Israel LAR-160, Lynx Grad, Lynx EXTRA, and from Turkey T-107, T-122 Sakarya and T-300 Kasirga missile systems.