![Raffi kojian-Armenian Air Force 6647](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Raffi_kojian-Armenian_Air_Force_6647.jpg)
The Armenian Air Force ( hy, Հայաստանի Ռազմաօդային Ուժեր, Hayastani Razmaodayin Uzher) is the air arm of the
Armed Forces of Armenia
The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...
formed by independent
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
in 1992 in the wake of the dissolution of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Outside its conventional name, it has also been referred to as the Aviation Department of the Armenian Armed Forces. It is organized and equipped principally to provide Armenian ground forces with
tactical air support in the form of ground attack and airlift in mountainous terrain. It provided effective support during the battles with
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
in the
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...
region from 1992 to 1994.
[Cooper, Tom (29 September 2003).]
"Air War over Nagorniy-Kharabakh, 1988–1994"
'' ''Air Combat Information Group (ACIG)''. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
Since 2003, the Armenian government has been funding a modernization and enlargement of the air fleet.
[Martirosjan, Samvel; translated by A. Ignatkin (25–31 August 2004). ]
. ''Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kurier''. The original link is dead but a copy may be found a
The Armenian Air Force sports the
Armenak Khanperyants Military Aviation University
The Armenak Khanperyants Military Aviation University ( hy, Արմենակ Խանփերյանցի անվան ռազմական ավիացիոն համալսարան) is a higher educational institution of the Armenian Air Force functioning under t ...
.
History
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
Although Armenia began taking over Soviet weapons shortly following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, it would not be until October 1992 that its nascent air force was able to conduct offensive combat operations. The first Armenian combat loss was suffered on 12 November 1992, when an Mi-24 gunship operating in support of the Armenians'
Martuni Offensive was shot down near the village of Kazakh. On 23 November, two Mi-8 transports were hit by ground fire, downing one and seriously damaging another; another Mi-8 was lost on 30 December.
The Azeris initiated a new offensive on 1 January 1993, successfully cutting the
Lachin corridor
The Lachin corridor ( hy, Լաչինի միջանցք, Lachini mijantsk; az, Laçın dəhlizi or ; ) is a mountain road that links Armenia and the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Being the only road between these two territories, it is has been oft ...
the following day and isolating Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh from resupply from Armenia proper. The Armenian Air Force helped bring up reinforcements for a counterattack that began 7 January. The first day of this action, the Armenian Air Force suffered its worst single-day losses with an Mi-8, Mi-24 and a (possibly Russian) Su-25 shot down; the Su-25 may have been brought down by friendly fire. By the time the Azeri attack had been defeated at the end of the month, another three helicopters and possibly another fighter – reportedly a MiG-21 (and therefore probably Russian) – were lost.
In late March 1993, the Armenians kicked off a new offensive in the north aimed at opening a second supply route from Armenia.
Operation Kelbajar involved a four-prong attack which was successful in routing Azerbaijan's
2nd Army Corps and securing control of the region. Armenian Air Force losses for amounted to one Mi-8 helicopter (on 16 April). No aircraft losses were suffered during the subsequent
summer offensives of 1993 or in the next year's actions preceding the ceasefire of 16 May 1994.
Although Armenia began working to establish an independent
Armenian armed forces
The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...
as early as 1989, due to a lack of resources, suitably trained personnel and useful infrastructure, the government delayed formally creating an
air force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch 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 a ...
until August 1992, and commenced combat operations in October.
[Petrosyan, David (June 2002)]
"Formation and Development of Armenian Armed Forces"
. ''Moscow Defense Brief''. Retrieved 14 December 2007. However, this may not represent the first use of armed aircraft by the Armenians; an Azeri report states that the Armenians allegedly used modified civilian
Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968.
It is now produced by Russia.
In addition to ...
helicopters for bombing civilian targets in the Geranboi region of Azerbaijan in January 1990. The Azeris also claimed Armenian
Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been o ...
attack helicopters were employed in support of an assault on
Shusha
/ hy, Շուշի
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg
, image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...
in February 1992. Azerbaijani helicopter gunships were also used in fighting in the region.
Establishment of an air force
In January 1992, the General Directorate of Aviation and Air Defense Forces was created as part of the newly created Ministry of Defense of Armenia. In 1992, by order of Minister of Defense
Vazgen Sargsyan
Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan ( hy, Վազգեն Զավենի Սարգսյան, ; 5 March 1959 – 27 October 1999) was an Armenian military commander and politician. He was the first Defence Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1 ...
, the aviation department was separated from the air defense department and became a separate structure, with a separate aviation units and subunits being created. In subsequent years, in parallel with the stages of army construction, various programs for the development and improvement of the air force were implemented. As a result of the reorganization and restructuring of the DOSAAF flying club and the "Arzni" airport and their transfer in 1992 to the Ministry of Defense, the Aviation Training Center was founded. According to its December 1992 declaration for the
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
The original Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was negotiated and concluded during the last years of the Cold War and established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe (from the Atlan ...
, Armenia had inherited only three operational combat aircraft and at least 13
armed helicopter
An armed helicopter is a military helicopter equipped with aircraft ordnance. Most commonly, it is used for attacking targets on the ground. Such a helicopter could be either purposely designed for a ground-attack mission—in which case it wou ...
s from the former Soviet Union, along with a portion of its
air defense network. The armed helicopter came from the former 7th Guards Helicopter Regiment and were taken over in 1991.
The identities of the three combat aircraft are uncertain, but may have included one
MiG-25
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by th ...
interceptor and two
Su-25
The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...
ground-attack aircraft, probably from the former Soviet 80th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment at
Sitalçay air base in Azerbaijan; the helicopter force comprised Mi-8 transport and Mi-24 attack versions that had been based near
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
, Armenia.
Other aircraft reportedly taken over by the Armenians in 1991 include six
An-2
The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau ...
, one
An-24
The Antonov An-24 (Russian/Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24) ( NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau and manufactured by Kyiv, Irk ...
and one
An-32
The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft.
Design and development
The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the s ...
transports, as well as ten
Yak-52
The Yakovlev Yak-52 (russian: Яковлев Як-52) is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. It was produced in Romania from 1977 to 1998 by Aerostar, as ''Iak-52'', which gained manufacturing rights under agreement wi ...
trainers.
[Jackson, Paul; Munson, Kenneth; & Peacock, Lindsay (Eds.) (13 June 2007). ''Jane’s World Air Forces''. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group Limited. .]
![Raffi kojian-Armenian Air Force](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Raffi_kojian-Armenian_Air_Force.jpg)
Territorial conflicts with Azerbaijan instigated a major expansion of Armenia's air and air defense forces in 1993–1994. The bulk of Armenia's aviation-related investment, however, went to greatly strengthening the
Armenian Air Defense organization. With Russian technical assistance and contributions of anti-aircraft weapons and equipment, within a year Armenia was able to integrate most of the Soviet
radars
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, ...
and
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s (SAMs) left in its territory into a coherent and effective air defense system, which it officially declared operational in April 1994.
Aircraft additions were few, but by the end of 1994 the Armenian Air Force's inventory had reached an estimated 5–6 operational Su-25s (one has long been non-operational) and possibly one MiG-25 combat aircraft; two
L-39 and ten Yak-52 trainers; six An-2, two
An-72
The Antonov An-72 (NATO reporting name: Coaler) is a Soviet/Ukrainian transport aircraft, developed by Antonov. It was designed as an STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commer ...
, one
Tu-134
The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain ot ...
, one
Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...
transport aircraft; and two
Mi-2, seven
Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968.
It is now produced by Russia.
In addition to ...
/
Mi-17
The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...
, 15
Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been o ...
helicopters.
21st century
The Armenian Air Force experienced a major expansion and modernization in 2004–2005. It tripled its fixed-wing combat arm through the procurement of ten surplus Su-25 from
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
for a total of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1 million in August 2004.
[''United Nations Register of Conventional Arms''](_blank)
, entries for Calendar Year 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2007 These twenty-year-old aircraft – which had not been flown for a decade and required work to re-certify their flightworthiness – were delivered in September 2005. The Su-25 receipt was also originally mis-reported as an acquisition of ten
Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
air superiority fighters, an aircraft the
Slovak Air Force
The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Vzdušné sily Ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky), is the aviation and air defense branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 23 airc ...
never operated.
[Anon. (3 October 2005). "Armenia Buys War Planes From Russia". ''Turan News Agency'' (Azerbaijan).] Also in 2004, Armenia received a pair of L-39C trainers from each of Russia and the
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, as well as two Il-76 transports from Russia in May.
Recently, there have been unverified reports that Armenia received up to ten Su-27s from Russia in 2006. This may have been presaged by an Azeri source which reported in October 2005 that Armenia had bought "10 fighter jets", but that, according to Azeri military sources, only 2-3 of the aircraft were Su-27s; the remainder were purportedly Su-25 jets and Mi-24 attack helicopters.
Ostensibly, these would have been procured on preferential terms under the provisions of the 2002
Collective Security Treaty Organization
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics ...
(CSTO) agreement. To date, however, there has been no confirmation of the receipt of any of these aircraft, and it is possible that any appearance of Su-27s in Armenia may have been a deployment of Russia's own aircraft to its airbase at Yerevan. (It has also been pointed out that the Soviets never based Su-27s in Transcaucasia because it was too difficult an environment for them to operate in. Armenia's small size limits operational maneuver room and makes it difficult for them to climb to sufficient altitude.)
In January 2016, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan mentioned that Russia had discussed the possibility of supplying Su-30 fighters to
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
during a four-day Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on bilateral military-technical cooperation. Armenia has ordered four Su-30SMs in February 2019, with deliveries expected to begin in 2020. The country plans to acquire additional Su-30SM aircraft, according to the Armenian Defense Minister
David Tonoyan
David Edgari Tonoyan (Armenian:Դավիթ Էդգարի Տոնոյան; born 27 December 1967) is an Armenian political figure and former Defence Minister of Armenia, in office from 2018 to 2020.
Biography Early life and career
David Tonoyan ...
. On 27 December 2019, Armenia has received all four aircraft ahead of schedule. In August 2020, negotiations were under way to acquire a new batch of Su-30SM fighters, according to Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan. In March 2021,
Nikol Pashinyan
Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan ( hy, Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան, ; born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018.
A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in 1 ...
, Prime Minister of Armenia, confirmed that Armenia bought Su-30SM fighters without missiles package from Russia.
Organization
Little information has been made public about the Armenian Air Force's organization. It is known that the Air Force operates within a joint Air and Air Defense Force structure, and in 2004 the Air Force comprised four functional units:
![Armenian Su-25 in V formation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Armenian_Su-25_in_V_formation.jpg)
* 121st Ground Attack Aviation Squadron (Gyumri Aviation Military Unit), based at Gyumri
* 15th Mixed Aviation Regiment, a composite helicopter squadron based at Yerevan
* 60th Aviation Training Squadron, a training center at Arzni.
Airbases
Armenia's main airbases are located at
Erebuni Airport
Erebuni Airport ( hy, Էրեբունի օդանավակայան) is a military airport serving Yerevan and the country of Armenia. It is located south of the center of Yerevan. At present, the airport is mostly operated by the military and is ho ...
in Yerevan and
Shirak Airport in Gyumri, with the addition of a training base at
Arzni Airport.
Air Defense Force
The Air Defence Force is part of the Armenian Air Force. It was equipped and organized as part of the military reform program of Ter-Grigoriants. Armenian Air Defence forces comprise an
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
missile
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
and two
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
s armed with 100 missile launchers of mostly
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and now
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n manufacture. The previous commander of the
Russian Air Force
" Air March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 12 August
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles =
, decorations =
, bat ...
, General
Vladimir Mikhaylov, said:
"On the one hand, Armenia’s national system of air defence makes us happy", e said
E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
"On the other, we will keep helping you, including with means and forces existing at the Russian military base No. 102 which is stationed here".
In 1992, the Air Defense Department is established by the order of the Minister of Defense. At the time, about 400 non-commissioned officers were drafted. At the same time, light anti-aircraft defense units were formed in the motorized rifle regiments and brigades, which later turned into batteries and divisions.
Personnel
In the summer of 1993, the Armenian Air Force had a personnel strength of 2,000; this had grown to 3,000 by 2004.
Originally dependent on small numbers of returning experienced Armenian military personnel, reservists, conscripts, and contract foreign nationals, during 1993–1994 Armenia established its own military institutions from scratch, among which were its own aviation vocational institute at Yerevan and related training facilities. It remains reliant on conscripts, who serve for 24 months, but also employs volunteers on a contract basis with terms of 3–15 years.
Pilots and technical personnel begin their training at the Military Aviation Institute in Yerevan, which was established in 1993. Pilot candidates undertake a basic and primary flying training course which includes 80 hours on the
Yak-52
The Yakovlev Yak-52 (russian: Яковлев Як-52) is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. It was produced in Romania from 1977 to 1998 by Aerostar, as ''Iak-52'', which gained manufacturing rights under agreement wi ...
and is followed by 60 hours of jet conversion and advanced training on the L-39. This training is conducted at the airbase at Arzni (sometimes misidentified as Areni), a former Soviet
DOSAAF
DOSAAF (russian: ДОСААФ), full name ''Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флоту), was a parami ...
base located northeast of Yerevan. In 2005, the facility also operated a single
Yak-18
The Yakovlev Yak-18 (russian: Яковлев Як-18; NATO reporting name Max) is a tandem two-seat military primary trainer aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union. Originally powered by one 119 kW (160 hp) Shvetsov M-11FR-1 radial p ...
aerobatic
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
trainer for drop training of
paratrooper
A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
s. A pair of
Mi-2 helicopters were also kept available for training helicopter air crews. Type conversion and advanced tactical training are conducted at operational units.
International cooperation
Armenian and Russian air and air defense forces are closely integrated. To help redress its relative military weaknesses compared to Azerbaijan and Turkey, on 16 March 1995 Armenia signed a treaty with Russia giving the latter a 25-year-long military presence in Armenia. A follow-on agreement defining terms and conditions was signed 27 September 1996 which authorized the establishment of Russian aviation bases at
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
and Yerevan. Russian aviation forces in Armenia comprise 18 MiG-29 fighters of the 426th Fighter Squadron and the 700th Air Traffic Control Center, both at the 3624th Air Base at
Erebuni Airport
Erebuni Airport ( hy, Էրեբունի օդանավակայան) is a military airport serving Yerevan and the country of Armenia. It is located south of the center of Yerevan. At present, the airport is mostly operated by the military and is ho ...
outside Yerevan. Russian MiG-29s arrived in four separate batches: five on 16 December 1998, five on 26 February 1999, four more on 18 June and the final four on 22 October 1999. This serial deployment of Russian aircraft to their Armenian base was initially misinterpreted as deliveries to the Armenian Air Force. The Russian MiG-29s may have supplanted an earlier deployment of
MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generatio ...
fighters, as there have been unconfirmed reports of the latter being in service around that time, with the combined number of MiG-23s and MiG-29s at Yerevan possibly reaching as many as 30 aircraft.
(There have also been unsubstantiated rumors of Armenian MiG-23 receipts.)
The Armenian Air Force participates in the
CSTO
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty has ...
's annual air defense exercises.
Commanders
*General Stepan Galstyan (2003-2009)
*Major General Avetik Muradyan (until March 2019)
Equipment
Aircraft
In February 2019, Armenia contracted to purchase 4
Su-30SM fighters for $100 million without missiles package.
The aircraft were built by the Irkutsk Aviation Factory and were delivered in late December 2019. These Su-30 were left unused in the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...
as a result of the purchase of aircraft without missiles.
Air Defense
Accidents and Incidents
* 4 November 2008: An Armenian Air Force
Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been o ...
attack helicopter crashed as it was preparing for a training flight, killing pilot Captain Arshak Nersisyan.
*12 November 2014:
2014 Armenian Mil Mi-24 shootdown
On 12 November 2014, an Armenian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter ( NATO reporting name "Hind") was shot down by Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, killing all three crew members.
Events
According to the Armenian side, ...
*15 May 2017:
9K33 Osa
The 9K33 ''Osa'' (, literally "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 ''Gecko'') is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version na ...
of Armenian short-range air defence system was destroyed by Azerbaijani Armed Forces on Khojavand-Fizuli direction in
Karabakh
Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura (Caspia ...
.
* 4 December 2018: An Armenian Air Force Su-25UBK two-seater trainer crashed near the town of Maralik in the Shirak region of Armenia, killing both pilots, Lieutenant Colonel Armen Babayan and Major Movses Manukyan.
* 29 September 2020: during the
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...
an Armenian Su-25 was allegedly shot down by a Turkish F-16, showing the pictures of the crash site. Turkish and Azerbaijani governments denied the Armenian claim, saying that two Armenian Su-25 crashed due to non combat related causes.
See also
*
Armenian Army
The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...
*
Military history of Armenia
The early military history of Armenia is defined by the situation of the Armenian Highland between the Hellenistic states, and later the Byzantine Empire, in the west and the Persian Empire to the east. The Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom ...
*
1958 C-130 shootdown incident
References
{{Authority control
Military units and formations established in 1992