Military Technology and the Transformation of Warfare
29. The Importance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
The 2020 war attracted international military attention because of the extensive use of drones.
Azerbaijan employed several types of unmanned aerial systems, including Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 armed drones and Israeli-designed loitering munitions.
These systems were used for reconnaissance, target acquisition, surveillance, and strikes against military equipment.
Drones provided a means of locating Armenian vehicles and defensive positions without exposing manned aircraft to the same level of risk.
They also enabled Azerbaijani commanders to observe the battlefield and rapidly exploit detected vulnerabilities.
The combination of persistent aerial observation and precision weapons significantly reduced the survivability of exposed military assets.
30. The Bayraktar TB2
The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 became one of the most widely discussed weapons of the war.
It was capable of carrying guided munitions and conducting surveillance missions.
Azerbaijan used the TB2 to attack Armenian armored vehicles, artillery systems, supply vehicles, and other targets.
Video footage released by Azerbaijani authorities showed numerous strikes attributed to drones.
However, wartime footage was selectively published, and individual claims about destroyed equipment were not always independently verifiable.
The TB2's importance was not limited to the destruction of individual vehicles.
Its greater significance lay in its integration into a wider system of reconnaissance, communications, artillery coordination, and battlefield management.
31. Israeli Loitering Munitions
Azerbaijan also used Israeli-designed loitering munitions, including systems associated with the Harop family.
These weapons combine features of unmanned aircraft and guided munitions.
They can remain airborne while searching for targets and then attack by striking the target directly.
Such systems were particularly relevant to the suppression of air defenses and the destruction of valuable military equipment.
Their use illustrated the growing importance of relatively small, remotely operated precision weapons.
32. Armenian Air-Defense Challenges
Armenian forces possessed several air-defense systems, including Soviet- and Russian-designed equipment.
Some systems had been developed primarily to counter conventional aircraft and helicopters rather than small, persistent unmanned platforms.
The Armenian military faced difficulties in detecting, tracking, and engaging all the types of drones employed by Azerbaijan.
Air-defense assets were themselves vulnerable to reconnaissance and attack.
Losses of radar systems, launchers, and other equipment further weakened the ability to protect ground formations.
This created a damaging cycle: as air defenses were degraded, additional Armenian vehicles and positions became vulnerable to aerial strikes.
Nevertheless, it would be inaccurate to attribute the Azerbaijani victory solely to drones.
The outcome also depended on artillery, infantry operations, logistics, command decisions, numerical and material resources, intelligence, terrain, and the deterioration of Armenian defensive cohesion.
33. Electronic Warfare and Battlefield Communications
Electronic warfare played an important role in the conflict.
Both sides possessed capabilities intended to interfere with communications, navigation, and unmanned systems.
Electronic warfare can disrupt radio links, satellite navigation signals, radar operations, and other electronic functions.
However, the precise effectiveness of individual electronic warfare systems during the war remains difficult to assess because much of the relevant information is classified or based on conflicting military claims.
The war demonstrated the importance of protecting communications and integrating air defense with electronic countermeasures.
34. Artillery and Rocket Systems
Despite the international attention given to drones, artillery remained one of the principal causes of battlefield destruction.
Both sides used tube artillery, multiple-launch rocket systems, mortars, and longer-range missiles.
Artillery fire supported ground advances, attacked defensive positions, and struck logistical routes.
Rocket systems could deliver large volumes of explosives over broad areas.
When used in or near populated settlements, such weapons posed grave risks to civilians.
Human rights investigators documented unlawful attacks involving explosive weapons with wide-area effects during the conflict.
35. Ballistic Missiles and Long-Range Strikes
The conflict also involved the use of longer-range missile systems.
Armenian forces possessed systems including Scud-type missiles and Iskander missiles, although the precise circumstances of reported Iskander use remained disputed.
Azerbaijan possessed Israeli-supplied LORA ballistic missiles and other long-range strike capabilities.
Missile attacks expanded the geographical scope of the conflict beyond the immediate front.
Civilian populations in both Armenian- and Azerbaijani-controlled areas experienced fear of attacks far from the principal battlefield.
The use of long-range weapons against populated areas raised serious questions about distinction, proportionality, and military necessity.
36. The Limits of Traditional Fortifications
Before 2020, Armenian defensive planning relied heavily on fortified positions, trenches, artillery, minefields, and terrain advantages.
These methods had helped preserve the post-1994 military situation.
However, the introduction of persistent drone surveillance changed the vulnerability of fixed positions.
Equipment concealed from ground observation could be detected from the air.
Troop concentrations and supply movements became more difficult to hide.
Traditional fortifications remained useful, but their effectiveness depended increasingly on camouflage, mobility, electronic protection, integrated air defense, and deception.
The war became an influential case study for armed forces examining the relationship between inexpensive unmanned systems and more expensive conventional equipment.