Azerbaijan claimed on October 10 that one of its S-300 air-defense systems had intercepted a Scud tactical ballistic missile fired by Armenia.
The claims were made by Hikmet Hajiyev, a top aide for Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The senior official claimed on Twitter that the Armenian Scud missile was on its way to strike the city of Mingachevir in central Azerbaijani.
At least two S-300 PMU-2 systems are in active service with the Azerbaijani Air Defense Force. The advanced systems were bought in 2010.
To back his claims, Hajiyev shared a video allegedly showing Armenian forces launching the Scud missile. The video is yet to be verified.
Armenia launched NATO Code name “#SCUD” ballistic missile to Mingachevir city of #Azerbaijan from its territory. It was destroyed by our air defence forces w/S-300. In launchpad insulting Armenian speech sounds. Armenia’s state terror must be stopped. This video is from #Armenia. pic.twitter.com/p9yxk6txgL
— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) October 10, 2020
Earlier, Hajiyev shared photos showing the remains of an OTR-21 Tochka tactical ballistic missile he claims it was fired by Armenian forces at the civilian settlements in the region of Füzuli. The missile allegedly missed its target.
The Armenian military operates seven to eight Tochka launchers. However, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces also possess at least four Tochka launchers.
Armenia’s missile attack against Azerbaijan continues. This missile was directed to villages of Füzuli region but luckily landed in agricultural field. Armenia will continue deny it. Armenia remains source of threat to regional peace and security. ANAMA is in operation. pic.twitter.com/tg2HXvlsX5
— Hikmet Hajiyev (@HikmetHajiyev) October 10, 2020
Azerbaijan has made a number of false accusations against Armenia since the start of the battle in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27. Some of these accusations were made by Hajiyev himself.
The most recent example occurred earlier today. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan accused Armenia of launching a ballistic missile at Mingachevir. The “ballistic missile” turned out to be an Israeli-made ACCULAR artillery rocket. This type of rockets is known to be in service with Azerbaijani forces.
