Friday, October 21 2016 15:51

ArmInfo. Before acquiring the Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems and Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, the Armenian armed forces trained the relevant personnel, who will handle these systems, Colonel Artavazd Yagmuryan, Deputy Head of the Missile Forces and Artillery  Department, said at a press conference in Yerevan on October 21.     

He said it was the Armenian trained personnel that put the systems  into operation. Yagmuryan refuted the opinion that the order to use  the specified systems should come from Russia.

"The specified military hardware is on the books of the Armenian army  and it will be applied if needed. It is on high alert and it will be  applied in case of a relevant order," Colonel Yagmuryan said.    

He thinks that the Iskander systems are a deterrent for the  adversary. "It is no wonder that on 3 April 2016, when the Armenian  Armed Forces were on high alert and the adversary could not be  unaware of it, the rival suddenly gave up its intentions and started  to ask for truce," Yagmuryan said.  

He stressed that the Armenian artillery and missile troops are  equipped with up-to-date weapons and are ready to carry out their  tasks at a high level. "The April events also demonstrated that. When  the adversary initiated the large-scale hostilities and attempted to  suppress the retaliatory measures of the Armenian troops by means of  artillery, our artillerymen were able to make the adversary retreat  by means of surgical strikes," he said. 

He also recalled that this year the artillery and missile troops of  Armenia marked their 24th anniversary. He noted that the troops were  formed in 1992 during the battles for the Lachin corridor and have  become well- developed over the past years, which was demonstrated at  the military parade in Yerevan on September 21.   

To note, the military parade dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of  Armenia's Independence and the advanced weapons showcased during it  have raised hysteria in Azerbaijan. According to Azerbaijani media,  Azerbaijani President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed  Forces Ilham Aliyev, charged the Defense Ministry leadership to meet  on September 21.  "Analyzing the military-political situation in the  region, the ministry officials paid special attention to  strengthening all types of intelligence to identify new targets on  the territory controlled by the enemy, assessing their significance  and determining the sequence of their destruction, and strengthening  mutual coordination between the Land Forces, Air Force, Rocket and  artillery troops, Special Forces, and other types of troops," the  Defense Ministry reported.  "Taking into account the potential danger  of any military threat to Azerbaijan, Defense Minister,  Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov instructed the country's Armed Forces  to strengthen control over all the military and strategic facilities  in the enemy- controlled territories and be prepared to immediately  destroy these targets if necessary. Minister Hasanov emphasized that  the missile-artillery systems at the disposal of the Azerbaijani  Armed Forces allow the army to execute these tasks with high  accuracy," the Azerbaijani mass media reported. In addition, the  Azeri media outlets disseminate information that the Iskander systems  at the Yerevan parade were props. 

The independence military parade in Yerevan featured military  hardware that included Iskander short-range ballistic missile  systems, Buk and other modernized surface-to-air missile systems,  Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, as well as drones and MiG-29  and Su-25 planes, Soviet-era Scud-B and Tochka-U systems, Infauna  electronic warfare vehicles, S-300 missile systems, WM-80, MRLS,  columns of tanks mounted on heavy military trucks, armored vehicles  and others.