(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Rashid Shirinov
Although the Armenian authorities assure the public that the military supplies are extremely impressive, in fact bulk of Armenian army weapons and equipment are outdated.
Local media has recently reported about the military exercises of the Armenian Army held with the use of multiple rocket launcher Smerch.
Retired Azerbaijani general-lieutenant Yashar Aydemirov, commenting on the issue, said Smerch is the only weapon Armenia can boast about.
'Considering the Iskander operational-tactical missile complexis not at the disposal of the Armenian Armed Forces, the Smerch reactive system is the ‘most powerful' missile system available to their army Aydemirov told APA.
However, the general added, these missile systems were manufactured in the Soviet period and commissioned in 1987. 'Although civilians don't know, military professionals are well aware that the successful application of weapons produced 30 years ago and stored in warehouses for years is doubtful. Most likely, the Smerch system was used in exercises to check their suitability, he said.
Last April's fast counter-attack of Azerbaijani troops in response to Armenian provocation in the front line exposed a lot of problems of the Armenian army. The report about the April events, compiled by the Armenian human rights organization Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, showed that Armenian soldiers had not enough ammunition, the military equipment was faulty, and even Armenian tanks had no fuel to move.
Aydemirov stressed that in contrast to Armenia, the up-do-date missile systems and other weapons at the disposal of the Azerbaijani army are comparable with weapons of the most advanced armies in the world in terms of their accuracy and destructive power.
As opposed to aggressor Armenia, Azerbaijan has been suffering from the occupation of 20 percent of its territory for more than 20 years. Azerbaijan has one million refugees and internally displaced people, suffered from the ethnic cleansing and expelled from their territory. The country constantly boosts its military power as it must protect its interests in the region.
The Azerbaijani army possesses modern weapons and technical equipment for maintaining a high level of combat capability. These weapons are both purchased from other countries, such as Turkey, Israel, Russia, the U.S., and are also of domestic production.
The country also pays special attention to the professional training of its military personnel. Alongside the exercises inside the country, Azerbaijani Armed Forces participate in various military exercisesconducted at the international level, including those with the Turkish, Russian and Georgian armed forces.
Recently, the U.S.-basedGlobal Firepowersurvey center has put theAzerbaijani Armyat the 58th place in the list of world'sstrongest armies, while the Armenian Army took the 93rd place
The report reads that Azerbaijan's manpower available is 5 million people, of whom over 3.75 million are fit for the service. The total military personal is 374,500 people, with 67,000 active personal.
The nation of 9.8 people outperformed the countries of the region in the global ranking of military powers for 2017.
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