Drones take centre stage in modern warfare: CNN highlights Azerbaijan’s global role

CNN has published an in-depth analysis of the growing impact of drones and artificial intelligence on modern military operations, with a particular focus on Azerbaijan’s pioneering use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The report highlights how Azerbaijani forces were among the first to deploy drones on a large scale during combat operations in the 44-day Patriotic War. Analysts say this conflict marked a turning point in the role of drones on the battlefield.

“Drones came to the forefront of warfare relatively recently,” the article notes, “with the 2020 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh a major turning point.”

During the conflict, Azerbaijani forces reportedly repurposed agricultural biplanes as decoy drones. “Then when Armenian air defenses revealed themselves to take out the decoys,” CNN writes, “air combat drones (UCAVs) and artillery eliminated the Armenian anti-aircraft sites, eventually giving Baku control of the skies.”

The report also underscores a broader trend in drone warfare. UK Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Chris Whelan observed in a 2023 paper on the conflict: “The use of UCAVs after the 2020 conflict point to a new established trend amongst UCAV users, especially nations which do not have large resources to invest in military technology.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev