Armenian Air Force The Armenian Air Force ( ) is the air arm formed by independent Armenia in 1992 in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union . It is organized and equipped principally to provide Armenian ground forces with tactical air support in the form of ground attack and airlift in mountainous terrain . It provided effective support during the battles with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno - Karabakh region from 1992 – 1994 , albeit without much fanfare . It currently lacks air superiority fighter s , but air defense is provided by MiG - 29s of the Russian Air Force under a military cooperation treaty . Since 2003 , the Armenian government has been funding a modernization and enlargement of the air fleet . History . Although Armenia began working to establish an independent Armenian armed forces as early as 1989 , due to a lack of resources , suitably trained personnel and useful infrastructure , the government delayed formally creating an air force until August 1992 , and commenced combat operations in October . However , this may not represent the first use of armed aircraft by the Armenians ; an Azeri report states that the Armenians allegedly used modified civilian Mi - 8 helicopters for bombing civilian targets in the Geranboi region of Azerbaijan in January 1990 . The Azeris also claimed Armenian Mi - 24 attack helicopters were employed in support of an assault on Shusha in February 1992 . Azerbaijani helicopter gunships were also used in fighting in the region . According to its December 1992 declaration for the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe , Armenia had inherited only three operational combat aircraft and at least 13 armed helicopters from the former Soviet Union , along with a portion of its air defense network . The armed helicopter came from the former 7th Guards Helicopter Regiment and were taken over in 1991 . The identities of the three combat aircraft are uncertain , but may have included one MiG - 25 interceptor and two Su - 25 ground - attack aircraft , probably from the former Soviet 80th Fighter - Bomber Aviation Regiment ( Russian : 80 - й истребительно - бомбардировочный авиаполк ( ИБАП ) ) at Sitalçay air base in Azerbaijan ; the helicopter force comprised Mi - 8 transport and Mi - 24 attack versions that had been based near Yerevan , Armenia . Other aircraft reportedly taken over by the Armenians in 1991 include six An - 2 , one An - 24 and one An - 32 transports , as well as ten Yak - 52 trainers . Territorial conflicts with Azerbaijan instigated a major expansion of Armenia ’ s air and air defense forces in 1993 – 1994 . The bulk of Armenia ’ s aviation - related investment , however , went to greatly strengthening the Armenian Air Defense organization . With Russian technical assistance and contributions of anti - aircraft weapons and equipment , within a year Armenia was able to integrate most of the Soviet radars and surface - to - air missile s ( SAMs ) left in its territory into a coherent and effective air defense system , which it officially declared operational in April 1994 . Aircraft additions were few , but by the end of 1994 the Armenian Air Force ’ s inventory had reached an estimated 5 – 6 operational Su - 25s ( one has long been non - operational ) and possibly one MiG - 25 combat aircraft ; two L - 39 and ten Yak - 52 trainers ; six An - 2 , two An - 72 , one Tu - 134 , one Tu - 154 transport aircraft ; and two Mi - 2 , seven Mi - 8 / Mi - 17 , 15 Mi - 24 helicopters . To help redress its relative military weaknesses compared to Azerbaijan and Turkey , on 16 March 1995 Armenia signed a treaty with Russia giving the latter a 25 - year - long military presence in Armenia . A follow - on agreement defining terms and conditions was signed 27 September 1996 which authorized the establishment of Russian bases at Gyumri and Yerevan . Russian aviation forces in Armenia comprise 18 MiG - 29 fighters of the 426th Fighter Squadron [ " 426 Istrebitel ’ naya Aviatsionnaya Eskadril ’ ya ( 426 IAE ) " ] and the 700th Air Traffic Control Center , both at the 3624th Air Base [ " 3624 Aviatsionnaya Baza ( 3624 AB ) " ] at Erebuni Airport outside Yerevan . Russian MiG - 29s arrived in four separate batches : five on 16 December 1998 , five on 26 February 1999 , four more on 18 June and the final four on 22 October 1999 . This serial deployment of Russian aircraft to their Armenian base was initially misinterpreted as deliveries to the Armenian Air Force . The Russian MiG - 29s may have supplanted an earlier deployment of MiG - 23 fighters , as there have been unconfirmed reports of the latter being in service around that time , with the combined number of MiG - 23s and MiG - 29s at Yerevan possibly reaching as many as 30 aircraft . ( There have also been unsubstantiated rumors of Armenian MiG - 23 receipts . ) The Armenian Air Force experienced a major expansion and modernization in 2004 – 2005 . It tripled its fixed - wing combat arm through the procurement of ten surplus Su - 25 from Slovakia for a total of US $ 1 million in August 2004 . These twenty - year - old aircraft – which had not been flown for a decade and required work to re - certify their flightworthiness – were delivered in September 2005 . The Su - 25 receipt was also originally mis - reported as an acquisition of ten Su - 27 air superiority fighters , an aircraft the Slovak Air Force never operated . Also in 2004 , Armenia received a pair of L - 39C trainers from each of Russia and the Ukraine , as well as two Il - 76 transports from Russia in May . Recently , there have been unverified reports that Armenia received up to ten Su - 27 from Russia in 2006 . This may have been presaged by an Azeri source which reported in October 2005 that Armenia had bought " 10 fighter jets " , but that , according to Azeri military sources , only 2 – 3 of the aircraft were Su - 27 ; the remainder were purportedly Su - 25 jets and Mi - 24 attack helicopters . Ostensibly , these would have been procured on preferential terms under the provisions of the 2002 Collective Security Treaty Organization ( CSTO ) agreement . To date , however , there has been no confirmation of the receipt of any of these aircraft , and it is possible that any appearance of Su - 27s in Armenia may have been a deployment of Russia ’ s own aircraft to its airbase at Yerevan . ( It has also been pointed out that the Soviets never based Su - 27s in Transcaucasia because it was too difficult an environment for them to operate in . Armenia ’ s small size limits operational maneuver room and makes it difficult for them to climb to sufficient altitude . ) Major operations . Nagorno - Karabakh War . Although Armenia began taking over Soviet weapons shortly following the collapse of the USSR in 1991 , it would not be until October 1992 that its nascent air force was able to conduct offensive combat operations . Until then , Armenia was entirely reliant on the Russian Air Force for all air support in the Nagorno - Karabakh War . Armenia suffered its first combat loss on 12 November 1992 when an Mi - 24 gunship operating in support of the Armenians ’ Martuni Offensive was shot down near the village of Kazakh . On 23 November two Mi - 8 transports were hit by groundfire , downing one and seriously damaging another ; another Mi - 8 was lost on 30 December . The Azeris initiated a new offensive on 1 January 1993 which was successful in cutting the Lachin corridor the following day , thereby isolating Armenian forces in Nagorno - Karabakh from resupply from Armenia proper . The Armenian Air Force helped bring up reinforcements for a counterattack that began 7 January . The first day of this action , the Armenian Air Force suffered its worst single - day losses with an Mi - 8 , Mi - 24 and a ( possibly Russian ) Su - 25 shot down ; the Su - 25 may have been brought down by friendly fire . By the time the Azeri attack had been defeated at the end of the month , another three helicopters and possibly another fighter – reportedly a MiG - 21 ( and therefore probably Russian ) – would be lost . In late March 1993 , the Armenians kicked off a new offensive in the north aimed at opening a second supply route from Armenia . Operation Kelbajar involved a four - prong attack which was successful in routing Azerbaijan ’ s 2nd Army Corps and securing control of the region . Armenian Air Force losses for amounted to one Mi - 8 helicopter ( on 16 April ) . No aircraft losses were suffered during the subsequent summer offensives of 1993 or in the next year ’ s actions preceding the ceasefire of 16 May 1994 . Organization . Little information has been made public about the Armenian Air Force ’ s organization . It is known that the Air Force operates within a joint Air and Air Defense Force structure , and in 2004 the Air Force comprised four functional units : the 121st Ground Attack Aviation Squadron [ " 121 Shturmovoy Aviatsionnaya Eskadril ’ ya ( 121 ShAE ) " ] , based at Gyumri ; 15th Mixed Aviation Regiment [ " 15 Smeshanniy Aviatsionniy Polk ( 15 SAP ) " ] , a composite helicopter squadron based at Yerevan ; a VIP transport unit probably based at Yerevan ; and the 60th Aviation Training Squadron [ " 60 Uchebniy Aviatsionnaya Eskadril ’ ya ( 60 UAE ) " ] , a training center at Arzni . As a result of a series of defense cooperation treaties beginning with the Commonwealth of Independent States ’ ( CIS ) 1992 “ Tashkent ” Collective Security Treaty ( CST ) treaty ( which was expanded into the CSTO in 2002 ) and the Russian - Armenian treaty of Friendship , Cooperation and Mutual Assistance signed 29 August 1997 , Armenian and Russian air and air defense forces are closely integrated . The 1997 friendship treaty , in particular , provides for mutual assistance in the event of a military threat to either party – which goes further than the CSTO security pact – and also allows Russian border guards to patrol Armenia ’ s frontiers with Turkey and Iran . Armenia regularly participates in bilateral military exercises with forces from Russia ’ s Group of Forces in the Transcaucasus ( GRVZ ) , and the Armenian Air Force also participates in the CSTO ’ s annual air defense exercises . Air Defense Force . The Air Defence Force is part of the joint Armenian Air Force and Air Defence , part of the larger Armed Forces of Armenia . It was equipped and organized as part of the military reform program of Ter - Grigoriants . Armenian Air Defence forces comprise an anti - aircraft missile brigade and two regiment s armed with 100 missile launchers of mostly Soviet and now Russia n manufacture . The Russian Chief of the General Staff , General Vladimir Mikhaylov , said : “ On the one hand , Armenia ’ s national system of air defence makes us happy , ” [ he said ] . “ On the other , we will keep helping you , including with means and forces existing at the Russian military base No . 102 which is stationed here . ” Airbases . Armenia ’ s main airbases are located at Erebuni Airport in Yerevan and Shirak Airport in Gyumri , with the addition of a training base at Arzni . Equipment . The Conventional Forces Europe ( CFE ) treaty limits Armenia to 100 fixed - wing combat aircraft and 50 attack helicopters . Fixed - wing aircraft . Note : Several other aircraft types have been reported from time to time as in Armenian service , but their actual use has been unconfirmed to date by reliable independent sources . Recruitment , training and military education . In the summer of 1993 , the Armenian Air Force had a personnel strength of 2 , 000 ; this had grown to 3 , 000 by 2004 . Originally dependent on small numbers of returning experienced Armenian military personnel , reservists , conscripts , and contract foreign nationals , during 1993 – 1994 Armenia established its own military institutions from scratch , among which were its own aviation vocational institute at Yerevan and related training facilities . It remains reliant on conscripts , who serve for 24 months , but also employs volunteers on a contract basis with terms of 3 – 15 years . Pilots and technical personnel begin their training at the Military Aviation Institute in Yerevan , which was established in 1993 . Pilot candidates undertake a basic and primary flying training course which includes 80 hours on the Yak - 52 and is followed by 60 hours of jet conversion and advanced training on the L - 39 . This training is conducted at the airbase at Arzni ( sometimes misidentified as Areni ) , a former Soviet DOSAAF base located northeast of Yerevan . In 2005 , the facility also operated a single Yak - 18 aerobatic trainer for drop training of paratrooper s . A pair of Mi - 2 helicopters were also kept available for training helicopter air crews . Type conversion and advanced tactical training are conducted at operational units .