On Sep. 29, 2020 an Armenian Sukhoi Su-25 (NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) attack aircraft was shot down by another military aircraft in a major escalation of the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said the pilot of the Soviet-made Su-25 died after being hit by the Turkish F-16 in Armenian air space.
In a Facebook post, she said the Turkish F-16 was 60km (37 miles) deep into Armenian air space.
Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan in the conflict, has denied the claim.
However according to Tom Cooper, modern military aviation author and The Aviation Geek Club contributor, there’s no doubt about the nationality and the type of the aircraft that shot down the Armenian Su-25.
He explains on Facebook:
‘OK, to make sure:
‘- Today at 10.30hrs local time, an Armenian Su-25 was shot down inside Armenian airspace, over the town of Vardenis, in northern Armenia.
‘- Contrary to what is reported by (meanwhile ever more hysteric) Armenian MOD, this jet was not shot down by a ‘Turkish F-16’, but by an Azeri MiG-29 (most probably by means of an R-27 air to air missile).
‘There are NO Turkish F-16s in Azerbaijan – especially not at the Gajr AB, only 60km from the frontlines (and thus within easy reach of Armenian surface-to-surface missiles).’
According to BBC, nearly 100 people, including civilians, have died in three days of fighting over the disputed mountainous region.
The enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but has been run by ethnic Armenians since a 1988-94 war between the two former Soviet republics.
The fighting that started three days ago now appears to be spilling out of Nagorno-Karabakh, with Armenia and Azerbaijan trading accusations of direct fire into their territories.
They also blame each other for starting the conflict.
While Turkey openly backs Azerbaijan, Russia – which has a military base in Armenia but is also friendly with Azerbaijan – has called for an immediate ceasefire.
Photo credit: Russian Ministry of Defence and Digital Combat Simulator
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I don't know regarding other conflicts, but in relation to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, I would take all Tom Cooper's statements at least "cum grano salis"... Apart from the specific case of the aforementioned Sukhoi Su-25 which, according to recent investigations, may have even crashed at the side of the mountain without having been shot by anyone, many other statements made by Cooper have proven to be incorrect. His statement that "There are no Turkish F-16 in Azerbaijan, especially at the Ganja Airport" was proven wrong when satellite images of the aforementioned airport with Turkish F-16 parked there were published and after that he changed version several times, first saying that the pictures were old, and then saying that the Turkish F-16 were there only to escort Turkish cargo planes bringing weapons to Azerbaijan. Another issue was the one of the Syrian mercenaries employed by Azerbaijan in the course of the conflit, a fact that, after so many weeks since first reported, has been proven beyond any doubts by so many sources that I don't want even to mention, but that was first vehemently denied by Cooper for then changing version to a more elaborated: "the Syrians are there to guard the pipelines but not to fight at the frontline". Plus many others but I will stop now because this is a comment and not an article. In a nutshell, as I have said in the first line, Tom Cooper's statements on the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War must be take at least "cum grano salis".