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.