Zaur Ismayil oglu Nudiraliyev ( az, Zaur İsmayıl oğlu Nudirəliyev; 1 September 1978 – 4 October 2020) was an Azerbaijani military officer,

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

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

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 ...

, and was killed during the

Aras Valley campaign Aras Valley campaign (, ) was a military operation launched by Azerbaijan against the breakaway Republic of Artsakh along the Aras River in the Azerbaijan–Iran border during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The operations started on 27 Septembe ...

. Nudiraliyev had 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 and education

Zaur Ismayil oglu Nudiraliyev was born on 1 September 1978, in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, capital of the then Azerbaijani SSR,

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 ...

. In 1985, he entered the secondary school No. 192 in

Zabrat Zabrat (also, Sabrat) is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country ...

of Sabunchu District, where he studied until 1992. From 1992 to 1995, he continued his education at the Military Lyceum named after Jamshid Nakhchivanski. Nudiraliyev entered the

Turkish Air Force Academy The Turkish Air Force Academy (TuAFA) ( tr, Hava Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy located in the city of Istanbul, Turkey. It is part of the National Defence University. It is the main human resource for the Turkish Ai ...

in 1995 and graduated from there in 2000 with a degree in

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

Military service

From February 2000 to July 2004, Zaur Nudiraliyev served as a pilot in the Azerbaijani 3rd Air Squadron's

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

of the Military Unit N, and from July 2004 to December 2004, he was the chief pilot of the same flight. From December 2004 to March 2007, Nudiraliyev served as the chief pilot of the Azerbaijani 1st Air Squadron's flight in the Military Unit N, and from March 2007 to December 2009, he was the flight commander in the same air squadron. From December 2009 to May 2011, he served as Deputy Commander-Navigator of the 1st Aviation Squadron in the Military Unit N. Nudiraliyev was the Chief of Staff of the 1st Aviation Squadron in the Military Unit N from May 2011 to November 2013, and from November 2013 to August 2015, he was the Chief of Staff of the Military Unit N. He was the commander of the 1st Aviation Squadron. Nudiraliyev served as Deputy Flight Training Commander and Head of Flight Planning Division of the Military Unit N since August 2015.

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

Zaur Nudiraliyev, as a

, flew Su-25 attack aircraft of the

Azerbaijani Air Forces Azerbaijani Air Forces and Air Defence often referred to as the Azerbaijani Air Force ( az, Azərbaycan hərbi hava qüvvələri) is the air force and air defence force of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. History The roots of the current organisat ...

during the

, which began on 27 September 2020. According to the Azerbaijani military officials, during the opening days of the war, Nudiraliyev flew combat missions supporting the Madagiz offensive and the

, often flying the

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 ...

aircraft at its design ceiling to avoid Armenian air defence systems. On 4 October, while approaching Armenian positions in

Jabrayil Jabrayil ( az, Cəbrayıl, ) is a ghost city in Azerbaijan, nominally the administrative capital of Azerbaijan's Jabrayil District. A town with Azerbaijani majority and Armenian plurality at various times during the Russian imperial era, and A ...

, the Azerbaijani intelligence warned Nudiraliyev flight about active Armenian air defence systems in the area, requesting the pilots to return to base, however Nudiraliyev opted for pushing on with the attack mission, bombing the Armenians positions. The Su-25 he was piloting was shot down and Nudiraliyev crashed the plane into the Armenian positions. He was buried in the Second Alley of Honor.

Personal life

Zaur Nudiraliyev was married and had 2 children.

Awards

* Nudiraliyev 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, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nudiraliyev, Zaur 1979 births People from Baku Azerbaijani colonels Heroes of the Patriotic War 2020 deaths People killed in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war Azerbaijani Air Forces personnel of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war