83-470: Zhubin is an Iranian loitering munition in Iranian Navy and Army . This article on an unmanned aerial vehicle is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Loitering munition A loitering munition , also known as a suicide drone , kamikaze drone , or exploding drone , is a kind of aerial weapon with a built-in warhead that is typically designed to loiter around
166-561: A BM-21 Grad near the border with Martuni. Two other children were wounded as well. On 2 April, Azerbaijani positions and inhabited places near the front line came under fire from Armenian military, armed with mortars and high caliber grenade launchers , that killed 2 people and wounded 10 civilians. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence, during a rapid counter-offensive, the Armenian side's front defence line
249-496: A Russian strategy to destabilize the region. Azerbaijan has been openly preparing for offensive operations against Nagorno Karabakh for several years, as evidenced by the continuous massive military buildup, as well as the Azerbaijani authorities' numerous statements in favor of a military solution to the conflict. Thus, on 23 March 2015, Azerbaijan's Minister of Defence stated that the Azerbaijani military had accumulated
332-723: A mosque (in Ahmadaghaly , one civilian dead), schools (in Seydimli , one schoolboy injured) and residential buildings as well as civilian infrastructure. Damage to houses in Azerbaijan by Armenian artillery fire was reported in the Russian press. According to Azerbaijan, on 7 April, Armenian armed forces shelled an ambulance evacuating injured Azerbaijani civilians in the Aghdara-Goranboy area. Also, according to
415-555: A "carefully controlled escalation [that] served to raise international awareness of the fragility of a status quo which Azerbaijan regards as unfavourable, in order to galvanize the international mediators and put pressure on Yerevan to be constructive at the negotiating table." British journalist Thomas de Waal , senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War , does not believe that
498-501: A backpack. Pocket-size jammers for soldiers were also developed. As of June 2023 Ukraine was losing 5-10,000 drones a month, or 160 per day, according to Ukrainian soldiers. This has led to Russia creating wire guided FPV drones, similar to a wire-guided missile or even wire-guided torpedoes. One drone captured by Ukrainian forces had 10.813 km of fibre optic cable. Such guidance makes the link between operators and FPV drone immune to jamming. It also allows for much faster updates from
581-708: A bus carrying Armenian volunteers enlisting in military service to the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Martakert by slamming itself against it, killing seven people aboard including the heads of two rural communities within the NKR. It is believed to be the first ever combat use of the drone anywhere. An Israeli-made ThunderB surveillance drone was shot down on 2 April according to the Artsakh defence force. Armenian officials later protested Israel's supply of weaponry to Azerbaijan. Some Azerbaijani sources claimed that Madagiz
664-399: A diving attack, often lacking forward facing cameras, lacking in control response-speed which is unneeded in regular UAV flight, and are noisy when diving, potentially providing warning to the target. UAV's, being designed as multi-use platforms, often have a unit cost that is not appropriate for regular one-time expendable mission use. The primary mission of a loitering munition is reaching
747-425: A drone as a baiting decoy with the attack role into one small and relatively cheap platform in comparison to the alternative wild weasel jet fighter. Starting in the 2000s, loitering weapons have been developed for additional roles beyond the initial SEAD role, ranging from relatively long-range strikes and fire support down to tactical, very short-range battlefield use. A documented use of loitering munitions
830-619: A drone's GPS navigation. A Royal United Services Institute study in 2022 found that Russian Electronic Warfare units, in March and April 2022, knocked out or shot down 90% of Ukrainian drones that they had at the start of the war in February 2022. The main success was in jamming GPS and radio links to the drones. Both Ukraine and Russia rely on electronic warfare to defeat FPV drones. Such jammers are now used on Ukrainian trenches and vehicles. Russian forces have built jammers that can fit into
913-485: A military operation to prevent purported continuous Armenian shelling of civilian areas in Azerbaijan. However, there was no evidence of Armenian shelling. Until the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war , the clashes were the worst since the 1994 ceasefire agreement signed by Artsakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia. A ceasefire was reached on 5 April between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Moscow . The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities also welcomed
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#1732772543142996-801: A modification. Loitering munitions fit in the niche between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs). The following table compares similar size-class cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and UCAVS: Whereas some cruise missiles, such as the Block IV Tomahawk , have the ability to loiter and have some sensory and remote control features, their primary mission is typically strike and not target acquisition. Cruise missiles, as their name implies, are optimized for long-range flight at constant speed both in terms of propulsion systems and wings or lifting body design. They are often unable to loiter at slow fuel-efficient speeds which significantly reduces potential loiter time even when
1079-434: A number of military forces in the 1990s. Starting in the 2000s, loitering weapons were developed for additional roles ranging from relatively long-range strikes and fire support down to tactical, very short range battlefield systems that fit in a backpack. Initially, loitering munitions were not referred to as such but rather as "suicide UAVs" or "loitering missiles". Different sources point at different projects as originating
1162-475: A relatively long time around the target area, and from UCAVs in that a loitering munition is intended to be expended in an attack and has a built-in warhead. As such, they can also be considered a nontraditional ranged weapon . Loitering weapons first emerged in the 1980s for use in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and were deployed in that role with
1245-638: A secondary explosive capability. Other systems, such as the Delilah do not have a recovery option and are self-destructed in mission aborts. Russia uses ZALA Lancet drones in Ukraine. Since spring 2022 Ukrainian forces have been building cages around their artillery pieces using chain link fencing, wire mesh and even wooden logs as part of the construction. One analyst told Radio Liberty that such cages were "mainly intended to disrupt Russian Lancet munitions." A picture supposedly taken from January 2023 shows
1328-505: A strategically important military base in Madaghis which is on the main road leading to Aghdara city and a bus carrying "Yerkrapah" Armenian volunteers were fired. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence claimed that along with numerous military personnel, two high-ranking Armenian officers were killed as a result. The same day, the Armenian defence ministry announced that an Azerbaijani drone, identified as an Israeli-made IAI Harop , attacked
1411-578: A target area until a target is located, then attack the target by crashing into it. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms near the target area and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can be changed mid-flight or aborted. Loitering munitions fit in the niche between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs or combat drones), sharing characteristics with both. They differ from cruise missiles in that they are designed to loiter for
1494-604: A team of BBC journalists asked to see and ensure where the alleged military objects are placed but the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence refused for "safety reasons". On 8 April, artillery fire was exchanged between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, with the Armenians reporting two soldiers killed. A temporary ceasefire agreement mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and field assistants of
1577-451: A white phosphorus munition fired by Armenian forces. The usage of phosphorus munition by the Armenian military was also reported by Al Jazeera . Azerbaijani Military Prosecutor's Office initiated a criminal case upon the finding. NKR foreign ministry and Armenia defence ministry dismiss it as a falsification and distortion of the reality. Armenian media sources disclaimed it as a staged operation by Azerbaijan, citing absence of evidence of
1660-408: Is UVision HERO solutions – the loitering systems are operated remotely, controlled in real time by a communications system and equipped with an electro-optical camera whose images are received by the command and control station. Some loitering munitions may return and be recovered by the operator if they are unused in an attack and have enough fuel; in particular this is characteristic of UAVs with
1743-486: Is being done in this direction. Today, we have gained full advantage on the line of contact." Furthermore, in his speech, president Aliyev openly accused the Minsk Group Co-Chairs of provocation against Azerbaijan and had stated that Azerbaijan's confidence in their activities had been completely undermined. The fighting was focused mainly on the front line with a length of 257 km. Each side blamed
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#17327725431421826-564: Is deployed at the platoon level and fits in a backpack. During conflicts in the 2010s and 2020s, conventional armies and non-state militants alike began modifying common commercial racing drones into an "FPV loitering munition" by the attachment of a small explosive, so-named because of the first-person view (FPV) they provide the operator. Explosive ordnance such as an IED , grenade , mortar round or an RPG warhead are fitted to an FPV drone then deployed to aerial bomb tactical targets. FPV drones also allow direct reconnaissance during
1909-464: Is nonetheless seen as a victory, after 25 years of a sense of having been defeated". Several analysts noted that the clashes did not result in significant changes. Matthew Bodner wrote in The Moscow Times on 6 April that "the previous status quo has been more-or-less preserved." Independent Armenian journalist Tatul Hakobyan , who visited the frontline during the clashes, remarked that
1992-510: Is not going to be able to do that". Armenian Ministry of Defence Spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan stated that the Azerbaijani attempted to take part of northern Karabakh with a " blitzkrieg ", which failed. After a ceasefire was reached NKR Defence Army Colonel Victor Arustamyan said that one military position was left under Azerbaijani control, which was of no strategic significance. On 24 April President Serzh Sargsyan acknowledged that Azerbaijani troops had taken very small pieces of land in
2075-494: Is sent on a potential kamikaze mission, and may even be constructed with commercially-available quadcopters with strapped-on explosives. Purpose-built munitions are more elaborate in flight and control capabilities, warhead size and design, and onboard sensors for locating targets. Some loitering munitions use a human operator to locate targets whereas others, such as IAI Harop, can function autonomously searching and launching attacks without human intervention. Another example
2158-457: Is strongly suspected, as is the case with modern fire-and-forget missiles and airstrike planning. An autonomous loitering munition, on the other hand, may be launched at an area where enemy activity is only probable, and loiter searching autonomously for targets for potentially hours following the initial launch decision, though it may be able to request final authorization for an attack from a human. The IAI Harpy and IAI Harop are frequently cited in
2241-486: Is the biggest supplier of arms to both sides and will continue to be so in the future. People who worked on the settlement process said that none of the sides would have trust in a permanent peace established by Russia alone. As the former US ambassador to the Minsk Group Matthew Bryza puts it, "The key to resolving this is to get the two presidents to have sufficient trust in each other, and Russia
2324-634: The Armenian Armed Forces , on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other. The clashes occurred in a region that is disputed between the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan . The region includes the former Soviet Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the surrounding districts of Azerbaijan under the control of Armenian forces at the time. Azerbaijan claimed to have started
2407-569: The OSCE , allowed for both sides to collect dead and missing soldiers. On 14 April, the Azerbaijani government reported that one of its soldiers had been killed by Armenian forces on the line of contact. On 15 April, Nagorno-Karabakh reported one of its soldiers had been killed in action with Azerbaijani forces. A soldier of the Nagorno-Karabakh military was reported killed in action with Azerbaijani forces on 19 April. Further skirmishes occurred on 21 April, killing another Nagorno-Karabakh soldier. In
2490-808: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated their intentions to report the beheadings and other human rights violations allegedly conducted by Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights . The co-rapporteurs said: "We are going to submit a report to the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on the fact of murdering and beheading of a conscript, and then publicizing it." HALO Trust reported that Azerbaijan had dropped rocket-dispensed cluster bombs around civilian settlements in NKR. On 17 May 2016 Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that on 11 May
2573-586: The 1980s, a number of programs, such as the IAI Harpy or the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow, integrated anti-radiation sensors into a drone or missile air frames coupled with command and control and loitering capabilities. This allowed the attacking force to place relatively cheap munitions in place over suspected SAM sites, and to attack promptly the moment the SAM battery is visible. This integrated the use of
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2656-727: The Armenian military had used 122-mm calibre white phosphorus munitions prohibited by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons against Azerbaijani civilians and civilian objects. On 11 May, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry jointly with the Foreign Ministry invited military attaches from 13 countries to visit the territory in the Askipara village where the Defense Ministry claims to have found
2739-492: The Armenian parliamentary commission which was established to investigate April clashes. Various non-official Azerbaijani sources, per research of social networks, put the actual number of Azerbaijani soldiers killed at 94, while two remain missing. According to Christoph Bierwirth, UNHCR representative in Armenia, more than 2,000 people left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia amid the clashes. In 2017, dozens of servicemen of
2822-475: The Armenian side, should the conflict scale-up to a fully-fledged war yet again." According to one analysis, the conflict highlighted the sidelining of the OSCE Minsk Group , which has a mandate to mediate negitations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and its replacement by Russian mediation. The OSCE Minsk Group organized a meeting only several days after the beginning of the fighting, and by that time
2905-572: The Armenian side. The NKR State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons called this claim by Azerbaijan a cynical attempt to mislead the international community, observing that before the start of the exchange procedure, all the bodies of the dead soldiers had been examined in the presence of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and no traces of abuse or ill-treatment had been discovered or registered on Azerbaijani soldiers. According to
2988-596: The Azerbaijan military installations purported to be near the Talysh heights. On 11 April, news footage from Armenia's First channel showed the Talysh heights under the control of Artsakh troops. Again on 8 May, news footage from Civilnet showed journalist Tatul Hakobyan with some NKR soldiers at Talysh heights near Naftalan . Later, Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov stated that if shelling of Azerbaijani settlements by Armenian forces did not cease, Azerbaijan would consider launching an artillery bombardment on Stepanakert. On
3071-531: The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence, on 7 April, an Armenian "X-55" style drone was shot down by Azerbaijani forces while trying to fly over the frontline. The Ministry of Defence of the Artsakh Republic published some aerial photos to prove that Azerbaijan deploys military units near populated areas and violated the Article 52 of Geneva Convention. During a BBC visit to Azerbaijan's side of frontline,
3154-438: The Azerbaijani army were arrested and tortured and accused of spying for Armenia. Azerbaijani military expert, retired colonel Isa Sadigov said that the combat losses over these four days showed that "the country is not ready and not able to conduct military operations." Terter region (where mass torture took place a year later) is located in close proximity to the line of contact between the warring parties. The expert believes that
3237-452: The Azerbaijani military used warplanes, tanks and artillery to try to make inroads into Nagorno-Karabakh. During the first day of fighting, Armenian forces claimed to have destroyed at least three Azerbaijani tanks, two military helicopters (including an Mi-24 and at least one armed Mil Mi-8/17 ) and two unmanned drones , photographs and videos of which surfaced on the internet. Armenian frontline positions were reinforced, heavy artillery
3320-573: The Azerbaijani offensive was meant as a full-scale military operation but rather as a limited attempt to bring the conflict back on the international agenda and put Armenia under pressure. He believes that after the April violence, the conflict is unlikely to return to its semi-quiet state and that a new round of fighting would be harder to contain than previous conflicts. Christine Philippe-Blumauer noted, "Russian official reactions suggest that Russian troops would not actually decide to intervene in favor of
3403-712: The European Court of Human Rights. The plaintiffs demanded to recognize the case of inhumane treatment with regard to the bodies, lack of respect for their privacy, and discrimination based on nationality. In April 2016 the European Ombudsman Institute issued a statement that condemns any violation of human rights regarding civilians and attacks on civilian objects in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to their statement, "civilian citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh were inhumanly treated without any respect and by that offended in their dignity". "We are concerned by
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3486-511: The US State Department, Azerbaijan "took a huge number of casualties, including comparatively", although the number was not specified. Overall, a senior member of the US State Department estimated 350 casualties on both sides, including civilians. Official estimates of the warring parties are far apart from each other. According to official statements of the involved sides, 91 Armenian and 31 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed during
3569-641: The atrocities of the 1988–1994 war, observed a Le Monde reporter. According to the Russia's leading human rights lawyer , the head of the International Protection Centre Karinna Moskalenko , complaints about these facts of violence against the civilian population are already prepared to be sent to the European Court of Human Rights . On 4 April, it was reported that Azerbaijani forces decapitated
3652-479: The beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which could provide protection against loitering munitions in some circumstances. Some Ukrainian tanks taking part in the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive were also spotted using roof screens. On 21 March 2024, recent footage of the submarine Tula showed that it has been fitted with a slat armor to prevent drone strikes, the first ocean-going asset to carry such
3735-422: The body of a Yazidi-Armenian soldier, Kyaram Sloyan , who had been killed in action, with videos and pictures of his severed head posted on social networks. According to The Sunday Times , it included "shocking souvenir photos of uniformed Azerbaijani soldiers posing with the severed head". Sloyan's body was buried without its head on 5 April 2016, in his native village of Artashavan . On 8 April, through
3818-496: The ceasefire. The April 2016 clashes were the most serious breach of the 1994 ceasefire until 2020. Among the possible reasons behind the escalation of the conflict was the worsening economy of Azerbaijan. The collapse of oil prices in 2015–16 have been frequently cited, with clashes being used to distract the Azerbaijani population from rising prices and unemployment. Alternatively, some Armenian sources blame Turkey for provoking violence. Some Turkish commentators have suggested
3901-673: The chiefs of the Logistics, the Intelligence and the Communications Departments, a move which was apparently influenced by the public criticism of the high death toll among the Armenian soldiers. President Sargsyan stated that Armenia would formally recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh "if the military operations continue and acquire a large scale." On 5 May 2016 the Government of Armenia approved
3984-440: The clashes, and several pieces of military equipment from both sides were destroyed. Also according to official statements, fifteen civilians (9 Armenian and 6 Azerbaijani) were killed in the conflict. Azerbaijani Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov declared that 560 Armenian servicemen were killed during the clashes and Armenian casualties were 10 times higher than Azerbaijani casualties. Hasanov claimed these figures were pronounced by
4067-676: The course of the clashes, mortar shells fired from the conflict area hit a village in the northwestern Iranian province of East Azerbaijan , but no casualties or damages were reported. According to Armenian officials, residents of Talysh and Madagiz had been evacuated and provided with shelter in other parts of the region. Armenian and international reporters announced that after Talysh was retaken by Armenian troops, an elderly Armenian couple had been found shot in their home and their corpses had been mutilated. According to these reports, Azerbaijani soldiers also killed another elderly woman. Photographs of corpses with ears cut off revived memories of
4150-560: The death of scores of soldiers of both sides was "senseless" as no real change occurred. He stated: "Azerbaijan did not win and Armenia did not lose." Russian military expert Vladimir Yevseyev said that the Azerbaijani offensive, despite the initial victory, was not a success because the Azerbaijani side has numerous killed soldiers and destroyed tanks. The International Crisis Group assessment stated that Azerbaijan gained "small but strategically important pieces of land". Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer believes that Azerbaijan "won
4233-545: The drone's strike mission. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, both Russian and Ukrainian forces were producing thousands of FPV drones every month by October 2023, many of which were donated by volunteer groups. Escadrone Pegasus and the Vyriy Drone Molfar are two examples of the low-cost drones that rapidly evolved in 2022–23 during the war. In 2022, the UK Government announced it
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#17327725431424316-466: The drone. However these drones have reduced range and manoeuvrability compared to wireless drones. Ukraine has also responded by using autonomous drones tasking to ensure that a jammed drone can hit a target. In March 2024 footage put on social media showed a Ukrainian FPV drone being jammed just before it struck a target. Despite the loss of operator control it still managed to strike the target. Russian tanks have been fitted with rooftop slat armor at
4399-476: The encouragement of the Azerbaijani serviceman who was depicted on another photo where the mutilated head of Sloyan was manifestly shown. On 8 April, Artak Beglaryan, a spokesperson for the NKR Prime Minister, posted a photo on his Twitter account showing the beheaded corpse of an Armenian soldier. He called the beheading in a Tweet a "barbaric act & Daesh/ISIS style war crime." According to
4482-400: The first round of fighting". Former Minister of Defence of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Samvel Babayan stated that the territories gained by Azerbaijan have strategic importance, and that Armenia lost these territories within one hour. The governments of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh rejected his criticism. Chatham House fellow Zaur Shiriyev suggested that Azerbaijan prompted
4565-538: The first time since 1994 Per Armenian sources: Azerbaijani claim: Per Azerbaijani sources: Armenian claim: 1994 ceasefire 2020 ceasefire 2023 ceasefire The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict , also known as the Four-Day War , April War , or April clashes , began along the former Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army , backed by
4648-455: The information received, that peaceful civilians were killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlements through partly cruel and inhuman methods of execution. All these operations constitute gross violations of human rights; they are opposed to European human rights and human values; they significantly endanger the European system for the protection and promotion of human rights". Representatives of
4731-476: The laws and customs of war and are in grave violation of the international humanitarian law", adding that the Karabakh side will ensure that "such behavior of the Azerbaijani side is condemned in strongest terms by the international community and the specialized agencies". Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence denied the accusations and claimed that the transferred bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen had been mutilated by
4814-438: The loop) raise moral, ethical, and international humanitarian law concerns because a human being is not involved in making the actual decision to attack and potentially kill humans, as is the case with fire-and-forget missiles in common use since the 1960s. Whereas some guided munitions may lock-on after launch or may be sensor fuzed, their flight time is typically limited and a human launches them at an area where enemy activity
4897-447: The loss of 31 servicemen without publishing their names. Armenian sources claimed much higher numbers varying between 300 and 500. The Ministry of Defence of Armenia reported the names of 92 military and civilian casualties, in total. The US State Department estimated that a total of 350 people, both military and civilian, had died. Official sources of the warring parties put those estimates either much higher or much lower, depending on
4980-535: The mediation of the Red Cross , the Azerbaijani side returned Sloyan's head. Sloyan was interred for a second time the following day, to lay his head with his body. According to Regnum News Agency and KavNews Russian agency, during his visit to Terter, Agdam and Barda districts, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev awarded the Azerbaijani soldier who allegedly posed with the severed head of Sloyan. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan condemned
5063-401: The missile has some loiter capabilities. Conversely almost any UAV could be piloted to crash onto a target and most could be fitted with an improvised explosive warhead. However the primary use of a UAV or UCAV would be for recoverable flight operations carrying reconnaissance equipment and/or munitions. While many UAVs are explicitly designed with loitering in mind, they are not optimized for
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#17327725431425146-457: The necessary weaponry to destroy 70 percent of opposing forces in a first strike. In February 2016, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned that Azerbaijan's military buildup combined with deteriorating economic conditions was increasing the risk of an escalation in 2016. On 19 March 2016, President Aliyev stated: "To resolve the conflict, in the first place it is necessary for our country and army to become even stronger. A lot
5229-401: The north and south of the contact line, which he said had no strategic importance for Armenian forces, who had not attempted to reclaim them to avoid additional loss of life. On 17 May Sargsyan stated that the Armenian side had lost control of "800 hectares of land having neither tactical nor strategic importance". On 26 April 2016 Sargsyan fired 3 senior Armenian army officials, including
5312-491: The oral agreement. After the agreement, both sides accused each other of violations. Azerbaijan claimed to have regained 20 km (7.7 sq mi) of land, while Armenian officials suggested a loss of 8 km (3.1 sq mi) of land of no strategic importance. However, the International Crisis Group reported that those heights were of strategic importance. Officially, Baku reported
5395-402: The other for the outbreak of clashes around the towns of Martakert , Tartar , Aghdam , Martuni , and Fuzuli . According to Armenian sources, on the night of 1 April and early morning of 2 April, the Azerbaijani side launched large-scale attacks along the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan. On 2 April, a 12-year-old Armenian boy was killed as a result of missile artillery attack from
5478-565: The parties had already come to a ceasefire agreement in Moscow. Following the conflict, Russia started to increase political and economic ties with both Azerbaijan and Armenia . In Yerevan , Gazprom agreed to increase gas supply to Armenia, and decreased the price of gas, which was already low. In Baku , Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had a discussion about a railway line from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan. Dmitry Rogozin , then deputy prime minister of Russia, said that Moscow
5561-633: The presence of a shell or of a shell being used by Armenians, adding that this is a non-story as there is no evidence of any prohibited use. On 10 April, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic said that of the 18 bodies of Armenian soldiers transferred that same day by Azerbaijan, all showed signs of torture or mutilation . The commission called these acts "a flagrant manifestation of inhumanity, run counter to
5644-496: The public report of the Human Rights Defender (ombudsman) of Artsakh, "the facts of beheading [of] Hayk Toroyan, Kyaram Sloyan, and Hrant Gharibyan by the Azerbaijani troops, as well as the torturing and mutilation of 18 Artsakh army members constitute grave breaches of customary international law". Relatives of three Armenian soldiers killed and beheaded during the escalation filed a complaint against Azerbaijan to
5727-529: The rear half of a Lancet drone that failed to detonate due to such cages. Likewise Ukrainian forces have used inflatable decoys and wooden vehicles, such as HIMARS , to confuse and deceive Lancet drones. Ukrainian soldiers report shooting down Russian drones with sniper rifles . Russian soldiers use electronic warfare to disable or misdirect Ukrainian drones and have reportedly used the Stupor anti-drone rifle, which uses an electromagnetic pulse that disrupts
5810-533: The relevant literature as they set a precedent for an aerial system (though not necessarily a precedent when comparing to a modern naval mine ) in terms of length and quality of autonomous function, in relation to a cruise missile for example. As of 2023 , loitering munitions are used by the armed forces of several countries, including: [REDACTED] Media related to Loitering munition at Wikimedia Commons 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Inconclusive (see aftermath ) The line of contact shifted for
5893-410: The same day, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence announced a unilateral end to hostilities. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence stated that should Armenian shelling pursue, Azerbaijan would continue its offensive. On 4 April, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence reported that an Armenian command and control center had been destroyed and released a video which captured footage of the attack. On 5 April,
5976-456: The source. The First Nagorno-Karabakh War ended with a ceasefire agreement between the warring parties that came into effect on 12 May 1994. Violations of the ceasefire occurred periodically in the following years, with notable escalations in 2008 and 2010 , but incidents especially increased since 2014. According to the International Crisis Group , there were 60 deaths total, both military and civilian, in 2015 alone because of breaches of
6059-474: The suspected target area, target acquisition during a loitering phase, followed by a self-destructive strike, and the munition is optimized in this regard in terms of characteristics (e.g. very short engine lifetime, silence in strike phase, speed of strike dive, optimization toward loitering time instead of range/speed) and unit cost (appropriate for a one-off strike mission). Loitering munitions that are capable of making autonomous attack decisions (man out of
6142-497: The time. For instance the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow was described in a 1988 article: the Tacit Rainbow unmanned jet aircraft being developed by Northrop to loiter on high and then swoop down on enemy radars could be called a UAV, a cruise missile, or even a standoff weapon. But it is most definitely not an RPV . The response to the first generation of fixed installation surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) such as S-75 and S-125
6225-428: The weapon category. The failed US AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow program or the 1980s initial Israeli Delilah variants are mentioned by some sources. The Iranian Ababil-1 was produced in the 1980s but its exact production date is unknown. The Israeli IAI Harpy was produced in the late 1980s. Early projects did not use the "loitering munition" nomenclature, which emerged much later; they used terminology existing at
6308-539: The “ Terter case ” itself appeared due to the desire of the command to “hide its shortcomings” during the April 2016 battles. There has been no conclusive assessment on the outcome of the clashes. Neil Melvin , director of the armed conflict and conflict management programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , stated that "Azerbaijan suffered heavy losses for relatively minor territorial gains, this
6391-494: Was broken in multiple places and several strategic heights and inhabited places were retaken (including the strategically important hill of Lalatapa ). An AFP journalist confirmed that the Lalatapa heights were also under Azerbaijani control. The Azerbaijani side claimed that they had captured some areas, including heights near the village of Talysh , as well as the village of Seysulan . an unmanned aerial vehicle of Armenia
6474-435: Was brought forward, and in the capital Stepanakert reservists were called up. On 3 April, Armenian military authorities announced that Artsakh Defence Army forces had recaptured positions around Talysh, On 6 April, news footage shown on Armenia's First Channel revealed Armenian journalists and NKR troops freely mingling on the streets of Talysh and Madagiz. On 8 April, news footage shown on an Azerbaijani TV channel showed
6557-507: Was claimed to be shot down in Fuzuli as well. On 8 May the Armenia's First Channel release footage from military positions near Seysulan. 14,400 people living in villages were affected by clashes, but no internal displacement or immediate humanitarian need was reported. Armenian Ministry of Defence spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan sharply accused Azerbaijan of launching an unprovoked coordinated ground offensive against Armenia's forces, saying
6640-647: Was in the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in which an IAI Harop was used against a bus being used as a troop transport for Armenian soldiers. The ZALA Lancet and several Shahed drones , including the HESA Shahed 136 , have been used by Russia in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine , while Ukraine has fielded loitering munitions such as the UJ-25 Skyline or the American-made AeroVironment Switchblade , which
6723-549: Was providing "hundreds of loitering munitions" to Ukraine. On 9 November 2023, Ukrainian soldiers claimed to have used a civilian-donated FPV drone to destroy a Russian Tor missile system on the Kupiansk front , showcasing the potential cost-effectiveness of fielding such munitions. A Tor missile system costs some $ 24 million dollars to build, which could buy 14,000 FPV drones. Loitering munitions may be as simple as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with attached explosives that
6806-692: Was the development of the anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) such as AGM-45 Shrike and other means to attack fixed SAM installations, as well as developing SEAD doctrines. The Soviet counter-response was the use of mobile SAMs such as 2K12 Kub with intermittent use of radar . Thus, the SAM battery was only visible for a small period of time, during which it was also a significant threat to high-value Wild Weasel fighters. In Israel's 1982 Operation Mole Cricket 19 various means including UAVs and air-launched Samson decoys were used over suspected SAM areas to saturate enemy SAMs and to bait them to activate their radar systems, which were then attacked by ARMs. In
6889-617: Was under Azerbaijani control, citing Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence but Armenian side reported this to be false. Later, the Armenian side published a video to prove that Madagiz remained in their control. On 5 April, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence claimed that the mutual ceasefire agreement, which was agreed upon in Moscow by the heads of Azerbaijan's and Armenia's militaries, was breached by Armenian forces which shelled Azerbaijani positions near Tap Qaraqoyunlu with 60, 82 and 120 mm mortars. According to Azerbaijani claims, Armenian Armed Forces directed high caliber artillery fire at
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