Baku is reforming its armed forces with a new education system, new weapons and a significant increase in special forces units. And all this is modeled after the Turkish army, Eurasianet reported.
The reform was carried out over several years as Azerbaijan sought to move away from the Soviet model of the military, which was characterized by heavy use of conscripts and large numbers of infantry and armored vehicles, towards a more professional, mobile and highly developed NATO-style model. Since Turkey is Azerbaijan's closest ally, Baku naturally sought to emulate NATO's armed forces.
Baku has begun a series of new military reforms, including increased spending, the creation of new units, a new National Defense University and an increase in the size of special forces. And all this had to be based on the Turkish model.
The rapid development of special forces seems to be the main priority of the reform. In April 2022, President Ilham Aliyev reported that "Azerbaijan has doubled the size of its special forces since the Karabakh war. This includes a new special forces unit created after 2020, units called commandos and based on the Turkish units of the same name.
While regular special forces are elite units focused on long-term conventional warfare, commando units are more focused on short-term operations in hard-to-reach mountainous areas and extreme weather conditions. The commandos go through a more intensive training program and are only armed with handguns such as sniper rifles and high explosive hand grenades and use light armored vehicles. Regular special forces, by contrast, are equipped with heavier armored vehicles, large-caliber rifles, grenade launchers, portable mortars, portable missile systems and other sophisticated equipment.
At the moment, Azerbaijan has announced the creation of five commando units, two of which are based in the Hadrut and Kelbajar regions. The location of the other three has not been disclosed, but it is safe to assume that they are also close to the border with Armenia and the line of contact with areas of Karabakh controlled by Russian peacekeepers. Further expansion is also expected: according to Azerbaijani military expert Adalat Verdiyev, Azerbaijan plans to double the number of sabotage and regular military units in the Karabakh region in the near future. Officials have not made public how many commandos are currently in Azerbaijan, but Aliyev said the number is in the "thousands".
The commando units will operate directly under the new Ground Forces Command, which is also a direct import from Turkey. The command was created in 2021, and its first commander was Lieutenant General Anvar Afandiev, a graduate of the Turkish Military Academy. The new command will now coordinate all ground operations; previously, the command of all military operations in any area was exercised from the General Staff. Since its inception, the Ground Forces Command has opened a new command post and a number of other facilities.
The new National Defense University, established in March 2022, is a Turkish model whose standards are based on those of the Turkish Defense University. Azerbaijan has also increased the number of its military personnel trained in Turkey itself, where more than 200 officers and contractors are currently trained.
However, there are limits to Turkish military influence in Azerbaijan. Although there were widespread reports after the start of the 2020 war that Turkey could establish a military base in the country, Aliyev said that this option was not discussed with Turkey. Azerbaijan's military doctrine does not allow the deployment of foreign military bases in the country, but Aliyev left the door open. If Azerbaijan faces a big threat, we will take this opportunity because Turkey is our ally, he said.
Perhaps the most well-known element of Turkish influence on the armed forces of Azerbaijan is weaponry. The TB2 Bayraktar drones have played a crucial role in the 2020 war, but they are far from the only Turkish weapons in Azerbaijan's arsenal. Other recent acquisitions include the Dragoneye electro-optical sensor system, Cobra II armored vehicles, TRG-300 multiple launch rocket systems, TRLG-230 laser-guided missiles, the T-122 Sakarya multiple launch rocket system, and others.
