The bi-planes fly towards Armenian positions forcing their ground troops to open fire thus exposing them to Azeri raids by drones and ground artillery, topcor.ru reported Friday.
The pilots of the An-2 bi-planes parachute out soon after pointing the aircraft at Armenian positions. The plane’s control are secured with belts to ensure it maintains course.
Earlier, press secretary of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Vahram Poghosyan, announced the destruction of the Azerbaijani aircraft by their military. Later, Armenia confirmed shooting down an An-2 plane and added that pilot of the aircraft was missing.
Nagorno-Karabakh has lost 48 soldiers since the beginning of the war. On September 28, Yerevan announced the advance of Azerbaijani troops in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the same day, the attacked side revealed destruction of a dozen tanks of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
An incident was reported on October 1 when an Azeri An-2 biplane was shot down by Nagorno-Karabakh missile system. However, the body of the pilot was not found near the wreckage leading to suspicion that the aircraft may have been unmanned.
YouTube videos of the incident show a blurry image of a slow-flying airplane being shot by a missile. From the footage the aircraft cannot be identified.
However, reports in the Russian media said the press secretary of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, Vahram Poghosyan, announced the destruction of the Azerbaijani (AN-2) aircraft by the republic’s military. Later, the press secretary of the Armenian defense department Shushan Stepanyan confirmed that the attacked combat aircraft was an An-2.
Apparently, Azerbaijanis use An-2 in an “unmanned” mode. The steering wheel of the aircraft is secured with belts, and the pilot himself makes a parachute jump at a safe distance from the place of hostilities, Topcor.ru reported.
