Aargauer Zeitung: Azerbaijan's military overhaul offers lessons for Switzerland

The technological transformation of Azerbaijan’s armed forces could play a key role in shaping discussions on the future equipment of the Swiss military, according to an article published by the Aargauer Zeitung.

The article notes that Azerbaijan achieved a decisive military victory over Armenia in the autumn of 2020. It emphasizes that the remarkable modernization of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces over the last 25 years could serve as an example for the Swiss army.

What makes this victory notable is that the Second Karabakh War was the first conflict largely won through the use of robotic systems. As Aargauer Zeitung quotes prominent U.S. military analyst, retired Colonel John Antal, "This is a precursor to the rise of unmanned, intelligent warfare."

Azerbaijan invested billions in acquiring state-of-the-art drones, including Türkiye’s Bayraktar TB2 and Israel’s Harop, as well as missiles and artillery. The Harop, described as an early form of the "kamikaze drone," can hover for hours over a battlefield, striking when it identifies a target. If no target is found, it returns to base.

By the end of September 2020, Azerbaijan had fully adapted its military tactics to integrate UAVs, making Armenian positions vulnerable to precision-guided missile strikes. Azerbaijan’s drones systematically dismantled Armenian command posts, tanks, artillery, and infantry.

The article also highlights Antal’s argument that the lessons from the Second Karabakh War should inspire even the restructuring of the U.S. military, stressing that "speed will be the key weapon in future conflicts."