Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

The Defence Ministry has hailed the high performance delivered by Azerbaijan's servicemen during the ongoing joint drills in Turkey's Konya and International Army Games-2021 contests held in Russia's Moscow.

TurAz Falcon - 2021 drills

"Azerbaijani military pilots successfully fulfilled tasks during the TurAz Falcon - 2021 exercises," the ministry reported on September 8.

It added that during the joint flight and tactical exercises, the aircraft of the Azerbaijani and Turkish Air Forces fulfilled joint flight tasks along the route at the assigned altitude in line with the training plan, the ministry said.

Azerbaijani military pilots successfully completed the task of destroying a hypothetical enemy's air defence systems and ground targets. They also made maneuvers to evade the fighter aircraft .

The joint exercises are planned to last until September 17.

Military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey first emerged in 1992, with an agreement signed between the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments on military education and weapon equipment and deals to help strengthen the bond between the two nations.

On June 15, 2021, the two countries signed a memorandum of alliance that cemented the existing military, political and economic cooperation.

The Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations that President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed during the first official visit to Shusha eight months after Azerbaijan’s victory in the war with Armenia, also focuses on defence cooperation.

It affirms joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats. The declaration also pledges joint efforts for the restructuring and modernization of the armed forces. Moreover, the two nations affirm to encourage the execution of joint projects with the aim of developing capabilities in the field of sea, air, and space.

International Army Games contests

In a separate report on September 7, the ministry said that the Azerbaijani servicemen, who joined the Tank Biathlon and Army of Culture competitions in Russia's Moscow as part of the International Army Games - 2021 returned to Baku.

The Azerbaijani servicemen have shown high results in the Tank Biathlon and Army of Culture contests held in Russia, the Sea Cup contest in Iran and the Masters of Artillery held in Kazakhstan within the framework of International Army Games - 2021.

The Azerbaijani armed forces have taken part in the International Army Games since 2015. Since then the Azerbaijani army has participated in the Tank Biathlon, Sniper Frontier, Military medical relay race, Field Kitchen, Masters of Artillery Fire, Sea Cup competitions.

The Azerbaijani representatives twice won the Sea Cup competition. Moreover, the national team won 3rd place in the Masters of Artillery Fire and the Field Kitchen contests.

In addition, Azerbaijani tankers took 4th place in the Tank Biathlon among the strongest teams in 2019. It should be noted that the number of competitions that the Azerbaijani army joins increases every year.

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