President of Azerbaijan talks about drones purchased from Turkey, Israel

"It is the general assessment of international military experts that Azerbaijan has waged a war of the 21st century. No one had fought a war like this before us. It was not only about drones but very accurate intelligence. As you mentioned, drones were integrated from both Turkey and Israel. The Israeli drones we had were reconnaissance drones and suicide drones; Turkish drones were reconnaissance drones and fighter drones. It was not easy to combine them in one military operation. The same can be said about our air defense system," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais in Brussels on December 14, Report informs.

"We have an Israeli air defense system, and Russia's S300 air defense system. We have a BUK air defense system. Thus, integrating these air defense systems was also a serious goal, and with the effective use of air defense systems, we protected ourselves from a great tragedy. Because Armenia was firing ballistic missiles at us and destroying sleeping cities. The city of Ganja was repeatedly attacked with SCUD missiles. They were targeting to destroy human settlements. They used Iskander-M ballistic missiles. It was used to destroy Shusha on the last day. They did not use one. Many of these missiles were neutralized by our air defense system. Thus, air defense systems, drones, artillery. The drones sent targets to the artillery. It is no longer a secret that we used small, light aircraft to detect Armenia's air defense system in the early days of the war. The pilot was jumping out and small aircraft meant for agricultural purposes was flying to the positions, and then, Armenia's air defense system manifested itself by attacking this unnecessary target. Then we destroyed Armenia's air defense system. The combination of these factors, and above all, the motivation and courage of our soldiers and officers who sacrificed their lives. About three thousand Azerbaijanis died for their homeland. All these factors played a decisive role in winning in harsh geographical conditions. Because we had to climb the mountains, in such conditions that the Armenians had built six fortification lines and buried mines for almost 30 years. After the war alone, nearly 200 people got killed or injured by landmines. Of course, all this laid the foundation for our victory. As for drones, we continue to buy them. After the end of the war, we signed new contracts to buy new modifications, and as you mentioned, at the same time, we produce reconnaissance drones, not fighter, or suicide drones, and these drones are put on the market. Azerbaijan exports its military products to more than 30 countries, and we have already developed a military-industrial complex that meets our basic needs. We continue to do so, because, as I said, there is still a threat of Armenian revanchism. There is still a threat of destabilization. Thus, we must always be ready to defend our borders," the head of state said.