The article contends that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine did not inaugurate a wholly new era of warfare; Azerbaijan’s 44-day 2020 victory over Armenia already demonstrated the decisive role of drones (including Turkish Bayraktars), modern anti-tank and air-defence systems, and agile special forces against rigid, poorly protected columns.

Azerbaijan and Ukraine succeeded by applying Turkish and NATO-standard training—non-commissioned officers, mission command, flexible tactics, urban warfare, electronic warfare countermeasures and battlefield medical kits—against Armenian and Russian forces that retained hierarchical Soviet-era structures, weak communications, outdated medical support and little respect for soldiers, resulting in high officer casualties and predictable operations.

While Western and Turkish-trained forces have adapted to drone-saturated skies and special-forces emphasis, most NATO armies and their industrial suppliers have been slow to absorb these lessons, continuing to prioritise expensive legacy platforms over the low-cost, high-impact systems and training reforms that have proven effective against 20th-century-style adversaries.

Russia’ full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the on-going war have been mistakenly presented as the dawn of a new era in warfare. Different drones – FPV (First Person View), medium and long strike, ground and sea drones, and missiles coupled with the seeming obsolescence of tanks and armoured vehicles have led to many commentators ascribing the war as ushering in a new era of warfare.

The well-known Turkish Bayraktar drone, which was extensively used by Ukraine in the early stages of the Russian-Ukrainian war, had been supplied to Azerbaijan since 2016 and was first used in an actual war against Armenia. Azerbaijan and Ukraine also purchased modern anti-tank and aircraft military equipment, such as NLAW’s, Javelin and Stingers which are perfect for small, autonomous, and agile military units and special forces who used them to attack rigid, long, and unprotected Armenian and Russian military columns.

Two years prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan liberated its territory occupied by Armenia since the early 1990s. Baku’s 44-day........

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