The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War: Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles in Modern Warfare

Abstract

The brief conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan which took place in autumn 2020 caused a stir in strategic and defence circles. An armed stalemate which had persisted between two former Soviet states since 1994 was suddenly upended by innovative use of modern military technology. Azerbaijani Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) wrought havoc on Armenian entrenched forces, rolling back a disputed frontier which had stood for over two decades. Did this conflict represent a revolution in military affairs, acting as a harbinger of things to come? Or was it a restatement of the importance of well-known concepts such as Control of the Air? This article will examine the background and course of the war and analyse, with the benefit of greater perspective, its subsequent impact on modern warfare.