Nagorniy Karabakh

Feanor

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Update.

Oryx Blog has released their own count of verified vehicles losses from both sides. This should be treated as the bottom number. The short version;

Armenia - 8 T-72s, 5 BMPs (1 and 2), 3 Strela-10, and 6 Osa.
Azerbaijan - 8 T-72s (including some damaged and abandoned), 7 BMPs (1 and 2), 1 BTR-82A, 1 IMR-2 (possibly IMR-3), and 1 Mi-8 helo.


Azerbaijan has begun using TOS-1 and BM-30s in the NKR.


A tentative map of current Azeri gains in the NKR, in green.


More footage of UAV strikes and Armenians shooting up Azeri armored formations.


At the bottom of this lengthy post there is some footage of an alleged Armenian position overrun by the Azeris.


There don't appear to be any major movements at this time, since the initial push yesterday. It's also possible of course that movement has happened and we just don't have confirmation yet.

EDIT: An interesting video of Azeri troops moving towards the front line in trucks and light armor.

 

Sandhi Yudha

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According the Armenian foreign ministry an Armenian aircaft is shot down by a Turkish airforce jetfighter, and they also tell that the pilot of the Su-25 lost his life after being hit by the Turkish F-16 in Armenian air space.

No evidences yet and Turkey denies it, but of its true, then we have moved to another level in this conflict.

Nagorno-Karabakhs self-proclaimed authorities said 87 of their military personnel had been killed and 120 wounded since the fighting began on Sunday, according to the Armenpress news agency.
They put the number of deaths on the Azerbaijani side at nearly 400, saying that one aircraft, four helicopters and a number of tanks had been destroyed.

Azerbaijan has released no figures on its military casualties, but says 12 civilians were killed by Armenian fire.
 

Feanor

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Heavy fighting continues but it's not clear who is winning. On the one hand Azerbaijan keeps losing armor and personnel in assaults on Armenian positions. On the other hand they're destroying considerable quantities of Armenian armor and air-defense. It's possible that Azerbaijan is stalled and unable to gain ground, but it's also possible that they have a favorable exchange rate, and can afford to keep this up longer then the Armenians (who have considerably less money and manpower). Here's a fresh batch of footage with little clarity.


In an interesting bit of news, Azeri sources claim that this is a video of the destroyed Armenian S-300 command post. But I honestly can't tell...


There are reports of ~5 thousand Armenian reservists arriving in the NKR.


Armenia also alleges that one of the their Su-25s was shot down by a Turkish F-16, in Armenian airspace, and the pilot is KIA. However so far no footage of the wreckage. It's important to note that some Turkish F-16s flew to Azerbaijan for training exercises, and may still be in Azerbaijan.


There's also information that Iran shot down an unknown UAV near the Azerbaijan border.

 

OPSSG

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Armenia also alleges that one of the their Su-25s was shot down by a Turkish F-16, in Armenian airspace, and the pilot is KIA. However so far no footage of the wreckage. It's important to note that some Turkish F-16s flew to Azerbaijan for training exercises, and may still be in Azerbaijan.
In this case, I believe Turkey and Azerbaijan who have rejected the claim from the Armenian Ministry of Defense that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian Su-25 over Armenia proper.

If there are still F-16s in Azerbaijan, Russia or others can release satellite images to support the Armenian claim. Have F-16 images with time stamps been released?
 

Feanor

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In this case, I believe Turkey and Azerbaijan who have rejected the claim from the Armenian Ministry of Defense that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian Su-25 over Armenia proper.

If there are still F-16s in Azerbaijan, Russia or others can release satellite images to support the Armenian claim. Have F-16 images with time stamps been released?
Nothing has been released and the Azeri side is actually claiming that two Su-25 crashed into the side of a mountain. We have some photos from the crash site, but not enough to definitively state much. At least as far as I can tell.

Sorry I'm a little slow on posting updates. I'll try to get another big post out tonight, if not then tomorrow morning.


EDIT: I have not seen anything to be released. It's entirely possible something will surface sometime soon. Unless of course the Azeris are right and it was a crash into a mountain side. In which case we probably won't get much from the Armenians.

EDIT2: Ok obviously not today... tomorrow morning.
 
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swerve

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In this case, I believe Turkey and Azerbaijan who have rejected the claim from the Armenian Ministry of Defense that a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian Su-25 over Armenia proper.

If there are still F-16s in Azerbaijan, Russia or others can release satellite images to support the Armenian claim. Have F-16 images with time stamps been released?
Turkish F-16s wouldn't need to be based in Azerbaijan to shoot down Armenian Su-25s. Unless Armenian air defences are too good to allow it, they could fly from Turkey.
 

Feanor

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Update.

There are reports of an Azeri air strike in the NKR, and the Turkish TV footage even shows something that might be a parachute opening.


More battle footage from both sides, the almost-traditional arty exchanges, UAV strikes on Armenian targets, and Azeri armor getting hit. The only major novelty is the destruction of a relatively modern Armenian EW system, third link. Fair warning links 4 and 5 contain graphic imagery.


Also in at least one case Azerbaijan appears to have found a decoy target, which raises questions about how many of the strikes were against decoys. Some are obviously real targets but some could be fake.


It appears the NKR captured at least one BMP-2 from the Azeris.


There are claims by Azerbaijan that Armenia used a Tochka system, firing 3 missiles none of which exploded. However photo evidence is lacking, and Armenia denies this.


Some materials on Syrian fighters being used in the war by Azerbaijan.

Syrian rebel fighters prepare to deploy to Azerbaijan in sign of Turkey’s ambition
Témoignages exclusifs : les mercenaires syriens d'Erdogan se déploient au Haut Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: Turkey sends Syrian mercenaries into combat against Armenians

There's also information that Iran is moving troops towards their border with Armenia and Azerbaijan. There also appears to be Russian military cargo for Armenia moving through Iran, so far just trucks.


Passenger and transport aircraft have been spotted flying from Libya and Israel to Azerbaijan. The flights from Israel involved Il-76s from Silk Way airlines.

 

wsb05

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Looks like Azeris have the edge but at great cost for both parties.
TB2 and Israeli loitering munitions are proving successful.
Any idea about the EW capabilities of both parties?
 

Feanor

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Update.

We have close ups of the destroyed truck column through which BMP-3s were seen moving earlier. It was earlier unclear who it belongs to but it now appears fairly likely that this is an Armenian troop column, and it lends credence to Azeri claims of some territorial gains. On the other hand the initial footage was from very early in the fighting (day 1 I think) so it meshes well with some initial gains by the Azeris.


An entire platoon of Azeri infantry wiped out. Given how close together they are, it's possible they were ambushed. Warning graphic imagery.


Footage of Armenian soldiers allegedly capturing an Azeri position. It's possible they're recapturing a position they themselves lost earlier.


Footage of Azeri troops on a captured Armenian position, allegedly.


Armenian D-20s firing.


More footage of UAV strikes. Be aware the Azeris have on several occasions uploaded the same strike filmed by a different UAV from a different angle so the number of videos isn't necessarily reflective of the number of strikes actually carried out.


Footage of the Armenian S-300 firing on UAVs. Different sources claim they downed 3 or 4 UAVs. This may or may not be it's first official combat use, for the type as a whole, and there a reports that a civilian Georgian cargo plane was almost shot down during this incident.


Images of allegedly an Azeri Lora IRBM striking a bridge.


An Azeri Harop UAV crashed.


Assorted footage from the war, including images of what may be a second BTR-82A destroyed or damaged.


An interesting shot of what is allegedly an Armenian T-72 with no ERA.


An Armenian soldier with a Igla MANPADS.


Footage of captured Armenian vehicles.


Footage of a captured Azeri T-90A.


Armenians showing off captured BMP-2s.


An Azeri soldier posing with the battle flag of the Armenian 193 engineers assault btln.


Armenia has announced they're ready to negotiate. This comes right after they've accused Azerbaijan of striking Stepanakert with ballistic missiles.


A satellite image of Azeri An-2s that are presumed to be used as unmanned decoys intended to force IADS GBAD to reveal itself or serve as decoy targets.


An interesting photo of steel cables pulled across a gorge in the NKR, intended to cause aircraft to crash in the dark.


5 shells from the fighting fell in neighboring Iran, and wounded a 6 year old child.


Battle damage to a civilian residece in the NKR, resulting from Smerch munitions.

 
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OPSSG

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Watching videos from this battle has this former conscript terrified at the prevalence of loitering munitions — where even dug in positions are not safe (which was also shared earlier).

Israeli made LORA used in war by the Azerbaijani military. This is a deadly capability with a range of 400km (250 miles) and a CEP of 10m. Very effective against static targets, like the bridge that was destroyed in the video.

According to SIPRI, Israel provided Azerbaijan with some US$825 million in weapons between 2006 and 2019; including Israeli made Harop loitering munitions.
Moves of the diplomatic front by Armenia against Israel’s supply of advanced weapons to Azerbaijan.
 
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Sandhi Yudha

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It is actually beginning to look like Azerbaijan might take at least some of the Nagorno-Karabah this time. The Iskanders in Armenia, do they actually belong to Armenia, or are just part of Russian military base? I think if Armenia used Iskander against targets in Azerbaijan, it would be a major escalation because so far, Nagorno-Karabah, where LORA was used, has declared independence but has not been annexed by Armenia, so not formally a part of Armenia. In my opinion, the escalation would open door to an all out war between Azerbaijan and Armenia with possible direct open involvement by third parties.
 

Feanor

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It is actually beginning to look like Azerbaijan might take at least some of the Nagorno-Karabah this time. The Iskanders in Armenia, do they actually belong to Armenia, or are just part of Russian military base? I think if Armenia used Iskander against targets in Azerbaijan, it would be a major escalation because so far, Nagorno-Karabah, where LORA was used, has declared independence but has not been annexed by Armenia, so not formally a part of Armenia. In my opinion, the escalation would open door to an all out war between Azerbaijan and Armenia with possible direct open involvement by third parties.
Armenia has received at least two Iskander TELs of their own. It's an open question whether this is an Iskander-M, or an Iskander-E. And it remains to be seen how this ends. For example, just how many UAVs, especially loitering munitions, do the Azeris have? How many are they losing to air defense (kinetic and electronic) vs. how many are being used up to hit targets? I strongly suspect that if Azerbaijan runs out of loitering munitions, and their UAV pool gets low enough, they could end up losing ground. There's already some evidence that the Armenians have re-captured some lost ground.
 

Sandhi Yudha

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T
It is actually beginning to look like Azerbaijan might take at least some of the Nagorno-Karabah this time. The Iskanders in Armenia, do they actually belong to Armenia, or are just part of Russian military base? I think if Armenia used Iskander against targets in Azerbaijan, it would be a major escalation because so far, Nagorno-Karabah, where LORA was used, has declared independence but has not been annexed by Armenia, so not formally a part of Armenia. In my opinion, the escalation would open door to an all out war between Azerbaijan and Armenia with possible direct open involvement by third parties.
They belong to the Armenian Army.
 

Feanor

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Update.

We can start to evaluate some of the territorial gains claimed by Azerbaijan, it appears they have made some gains in the north-east and the south-east. In the north-east they claim to be inside the Magadiz village, though Armenian and NKR sources deny this, allowing us to fix the front line either right in front or right behind this point. Also it appears that the bridge the Azeris struck with an IRBM is still standing, through damaged.

In the meantime there are reports of an Armenian government plane landing in Moscow, and Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, issued a statement suggesting that Russian peacekeepers could be brought in to separate the sides. This would of course favor Armenia since it would make it impossible for Azerbaijan to escalate the conflict without running into Russia directly.


Azerbaijan has been using their Israeli LAR-160 MLRS.


There are some indications that 2 T-90s have been captured by Armenia.

 

OPSSG

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If Azerbaijan starts to use the LORA, than the chance is quite big that Armenia will do the same with the Iskander M (or E?)
Depends on target set (as not all targets are suitable for a BM strike), in 2016 Armenia became the first buyer of the Iskander-E.

LORA works as advertised but the target still stands — which IIRC has 3 types of warheads, including high-speed penetration that may be the one used against this 10 metre bridge target. As I said, not all targets are suitable for a BM strike. Given that the bridge has a span of 10 metres, if the middle was set as the impact point, 5 metres of bridge each way, at least 2 metres of the bridge appears gone, we can estimate that LORA hit 3 metres from aim point (with a margin of error +/- 1 metres in these estimates).
Azerbaijan has the option of using the BM-30 Smerch 300mm MLRS and the Polonez 300mm MLRS to service targets as well but these are even more inaccurate.
 
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Feanor

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Updates.

We have confirmation, Magadiz has fallen to the Azeris. While this is a minor population center that isn't significant in and of itself, it represents a tangible territorial gain, and it will be hard to dislodge the Azeris from this position. It also strongly suggests that despite major losses, Azerbaijan is willing to keep pushing forward, and I think they can afford the casualties much better then Armenia can.


More Azeri UAV strikes, and footage of Armenian arty working, including a rare KS-19 AAA being used presumably against ground targets.


Photos of an Armenian strong point, and POWs presumably captured there.

 
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