Baku is developing military aviation to attack, while Armenia – to defend, said deputy head of Armenia’s aviation department Armen Mkrtchyan.

According to him, the level of the Azerbaijani Air Forces is more a PR action rather than reality. The expert called not to exaggerate capability of Azerbaijan’s aviation despite the fact that the balance of power between Armenia and Azerbaijan is shifted to Baku from the quantitative point of view.

“However, in the early 90s, the Azerbaijani side has a numerical advantage, but we managed to get out of the situation in the status of a winner,” he said.

He stressed that the main advantage of the Armenian side is skilled pilots who got an appraisal from the international experts as well. The level of training of Armenian pilots, as well as relevant equipment allows carrying out flights under any weather conditions and at any time of the day.

Mkrtchyan said that, unlike other post-Soviet countries, Armenia has not received the aviation heritage after
the collapse of the Soviet Union and developed the aviation from scratch. Nowadays Armenia has not only the Air Forces, but the school and its own aviation traditions. Over the recent years, the country has imported new equipment which allows carrying out strikes on any targets in Azerbaijan.

“Our equipment enables to carry out actions within a radius of 250-350 km, that is, our air forces can conduct operations in enemy’s territory striking strategic sites, regardless of who and how they are defended,” he added.