The Jamestown Foundation:
On June 11, Azerbaijan unveiled its newly-acquired Polonez multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS, with a range of 300 kilometers) and LORA ballistic missile complexes (400 km), purchased from Belarus and Israel, respectively. Both weapons systems are designed to target major military bases and operational facilities located deep in enemy territory (Mod.gov.az, June 11).
The announcement came amidst news of heightened tensions along the border between Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, which together have raised fears in Armenia about the security of the country’s western flank (see EDM, June 4, 14).
The public display of the Polonez MLRS coincided with a number of notable events: the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between independent Belarus and Azerbaijan, a visit of the Armenian Air Defense Forces’ representatives to Minsk, a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Foreign Ministers Council in Almaty, as well as the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Moscow for the 2018 World Cup, where he was formally introduced to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
