Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan will hold its biggest military parade involving all types of armed forces on June 26, Armed Forces Day, local reports quoted military sources as saying.

The parade, which is devoted to the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union, will take place on a central square of the capital Baku.

The troops marching on the Azadlig Square will be backed up from sea by Navy and coast guard ships. Air Force planes and helicopters will maneuver in the sky, while Azerbaijani combat machines will drive through the square.

The military sources said domestically made combat vehicles will be displayed at a military parade for the first time. The parade will show Matador and Marauder combat vehicles supplied with domestically made weapons, which were manufactured by Azerbaijan’s ministry of defense industry jointly with South Africa’s Paramount Group. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) produced jointly with an Israeli company, 107 mm drum-fire systems and other weaponry will be displayed as well. Also, Cobra armored vehicles, purchased by the Azerbaijani defense ministry from Turkey, will be shown at the parade for the first time.

Azerbaijan has held two military parades since independence – in October 1992 and in June 2008. During the last one, Israel-made Lar drum-fire systems, Ukraine-made Smerch long-range missiles, as well as Russian Tochka-U missiles were shown to the public.