In one of your television interviews, you mentioned that our armed forces do not need UAVs because their combat tasks can be performed with a conventional grenade launcher. Has your point of view changed? Andranik Kocharyan, the Commission’s Chairman, asked Davit Tonoyan, the former Minister of Defense, this question in the investigation commission of the 44-day war. Tonoyan answered. “In that ill-fated interview I gave to Azatutyun- Liberty, during which I responded to some of Mr. Tamrazyan’s questions, I did not say that Drones are not needed; I said that there were certain recommendations that were found at that time in terms of price and quality not appropriate. It was still a question; would those recommendations become a reality? Would the agreements be implemented? As for the question that it is possible to hit the bus with an ordinary “grenade launcher,” we are talking about the bus. During the four-day war, our bus carrying our volunteers and civilians, in general, was hit in Harop. Such application could also be made by other means; that’s what I said.”
Before the war, why they disbanded the radio-electronic warfare units of all our army corps, demobilized some of their trained specialists, and dismantled new modern equipment; Tonoyan said that all the calculations and recommendations came from the Armed Forces to the Ministry of Defense. “The newest means were lame even during military operations regarding effectiveness and quantity. The changes that have been implemented have passed to several levels: deputies, head of department, head of staff.”
To the question: was it right or wrong in retrospect? Tonoyan answered that he could not say because they had both successes and problems.
They were interested in whose proposal and on what basis, before the war, the anti-radio electronic combat aircraft battalion was disbanded, and the means to replace the anti-UAV and Turkish F16 and E7 anti-aircraft Krasnukha stations were removed from combat duty and destroyed. Tonoyan urged to ask the specialized responsible units. Andranik Kocharyan insisted, not having the new, the old, which could solve the problem, you destroyed it, Tonoyan responded. “New ones had already been delivered or were in the process of being delivered.”
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According to the decision approved by you, how many days were necessary to assemble the troops, train the personnel, harmonize the battle calculations and units, and assemble the troops? Were those documents realistic? In response to this question, Tonoyan said: “Perhaps it was possible to do it in terms of quantity, but we had a big disadvantage in combat capability and effectiveness; I will give you an honest answer. The current system was taken from the USSR. Forty-four days would probably be necessary alone to carry out the harmonization.”
Hripsime Jebejyan
