Ramiz Vagif oglu Gasimov ( az, Ramiz Vaqif oğlu Qasımov; 17 February 1975 – 22 October 2020) was an Azerbaijani military officer,

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

who served in the

Air Forces 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 ar ...

of the

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces ( az, Azərbaycan Silahlı Qüvvələri) were re-established according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the Armed Forces from 9 October 1991. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) had originally formed ...

. He had participated in the

Four-Day War The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War,, IPA: ʰɑroɾjɑ pɑtɛɾɑzm az, Dördgünlük müharibə April War,; or April clashes, began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh D ...

, the

July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes The July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes began on 12 July 2020 between the Armenian Armed Forces and Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Initial clashes occurred near Movses in Tavush Province of Armenia, and Ağdam in Tovuz District of Azerbaijan ...

, and

Second 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 the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...

. He was killed during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and posthumously received the title of the

Hero of the Patriotic War The Hero of the Patriotic War ( az, Vətən Müharibəsi Qəhrəmanı) is the highest title in Azerbaijan. The title was created by the law "Regulations on the title of "Hero of the Patriotic War" of the Republic of Azerbaijan" dated 26 November ...

Early life

Ramiz Vagif oglu Gasimov was born on 17 February 1975, in the city of

Beylagan Beylagan District ( az, Beyləqan rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country and belongs to the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Fuzuli, Aghjabadi, Zardab, Imis ...

of the

Azerbaijani SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

, which was then part 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 ...

Military service

Ramiz Gasimov served as a

in the

of the

. He was able to pilot all types of helicopters and had the introduction of all types of weapons in Azerbaijan's arsenal. He was serving both as an instructor and a test pilot. Gasimov had taken part in the

in 2016, and the July 2020 clashes with Armenia in

Tovuz District Tovuz District ( az, Tovuz rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north-west of the country and belongs to the Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Gadabay, Shamkir, Samukh, Agstafa, ...

. Gasimov also took part in the

, which began on 27 September 2020, along the

Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact The Line of Contact ( hy, շփման գիծ, ''shp’man gits'', az, təmas xətti) was the line of military control which separated Armenian forces (the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army and the Armenian Armed Forces) and the Azerbaijan Armed Fo ...

. Gasimov, who piloted a

Mil 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 servic ...

helicopter armed with Spike missiles, first took part in the Madagiz offensive, providing air support to the Azerbaijani ground forces. According to the Azerbaijani military officials, he destroyed many targets, including several

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 ...

anti-aircraft missile systems and P19 radio equipment, belonging to the Armenian forces. After attacking the Armenian positions, he came under heavy fire, and the Armenian forces shot down the helicopter he was piloting. Gasimov ordered the other crew members of the helicopter to catapult. Gasimov, who was severely wounded in the arm, directed the helicopter to an empty area to prevent it from crashing into one of the villages in

Tartar District Tartar District ( az, Tərtər rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kalbajar, Goranboy, Yevlakh, Barda, ...

. Although he managed to parachute out of the helicopter, he received a heavy blow to his head. The Azerbaijani troops found Gasimov, who had fainted, and removed him from the battlefield. He then was taken to hospital for medical treatment, but died on 22 October after 25 days in

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

. He earned the nickname of ''Iron Wing'' for his activity in the war.

Personal life

Ramiz Gasimov was married to Gunel Gasimova and the couple had three children.

Awards

* Aliyev was awarded the title of the

on 9 December 2020, by the decree of the

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", ...

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

. * Aliyev was awarded the For Fatherland Medal on 15 December 2020, by the decree of the President Aliyev.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gasimov, Ramiz 1975 births 2020 deaths People from Beylagan District Azerbaijani colonels 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes Heroes of the Patriotic War People killed in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war