The Armenian defense ministry reports that a Turkish Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 shot down an Armenian Sukhoi-25. The pilot was killed. The operation took place in Armenian airspace, added ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan.
Yerevan specified that Turkish Air Force F-16 were deployed in the Artsakh area during Azerbaijani offensive against Armenia.
“At about 10:30 am on Tuesday Turkish F-16 fighters took off from the airbase in Ganja to provide support for Azderbaijani forces’ strikes against the city of Vardenis and the villages of Mets Masrik and Sotk. A Turkish F-16 shot down a Sukhoi Su-25 of the Armenian Air Force, which was on a combat mission. The Turkish fighter was 60 kilometers inside Azerbaijan’s air space at an altitude of 8,200 meters,” the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a news release.
In turn, the spokeswoman reconstructed, the Armenian Su-25s ensured air support to the Armenian forces deployed on the ground. It was during this mission of theirs that a Su-25 was shot down.
Turkey has not just been accused of meddling in the Azerbaijan-Armenian conflict but also using its fleet of F-16s and the same AMRAAMs against Yerevan. The Turkish F-16s that were deployed at the Ganja Airbase in July/August, in the garb of joint exercises were used in that attack, said the Armenian local media.
Fahrettin Altun, a representative of Turkey’s president, has denied that a Turkish aircraft downed the Armenian plane. Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry has also denied the incident.
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