Your trusted source

There have been a lot of difficulties on the path of creating the Armenian air force, but toady our air force is capable of fulfilling any task, Armen Apikyan, the first pilot of Armenia during the 1990 military operations, told a press conference today.

The 23rd anniversary of the formation of Armenia’s air force was on June 26. When asked why the anniversary was not celebrated this year, Apikyan said that in November 2014 a MI-24 helicopter of Nagorno Karabakh’s air force was shot down during a training flight as a result of a ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan. “Our friends died in the incident. A year has not yet passed since their tragic deaths so we decided not to mark the anniversary this year,” he said.

The Military Aviation Institute of Armenian Defense Ministry trains qualified personnel who then continue service in military units. The main problem is related to purchasing modern equipment, Apikian said considering the other conditions normal.

“Yet the equipment in our arsenal is enough to give a fitting rebuff to the enemy and ensure the impregnability of our airspace,” he said.