Azerbaijan Navy

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Ceremonial flag of the Azerbaijan Navy.

Azerbaijani Navy in a military parade in Baku.

The Azerbaijan Navy (Azeri: Azərbaycan hərbi dəniz qüvvələri) has about 5,000 personnel in sixteen units including the Caspian Flotilla and a Border Coast Guard. The navy has 7 patrol boats consisting out of; 2 - OSA-II-Class and 5 - Stenka-Class patrol boats. There are 7 minesweepers consisting out of; 2 - Sonya-Class and 5 - Yevgenya-Class minesweepers. There are 6 landing crafts, 2 landing cutters, 1 special purposes warship and 1 special purposes cutter.

In 2004 the U.S. Navy SEAL team from Little Creek Amphibious Base, Va., participate in joint exercises with the Azeri Army’s 641st Special Warfare Naval Unit, headquartered at the Azeri Naval Station outside Baku.

In 2006 the US Government donated 3 updated to latest technology motorboats to the Azerbaijani navy.

Motorboat of the Azeri Navy in Baku Bay.

On May 19, 2006 Azeri and Turkish Navy held joint military exercises on safeguarding the security of oil and gas pipelines in Baku. The training session was observed by the Azerbaijan Navy commander Shahin Sultanov and Turkish Armed Forces attaché Seyhan Ceyhan. The activities aimed to ensure the safety of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), the main export pipeline to take Caspian oil to Turkey and further to world markets, as well as on expanding cooperation between the two countries’ military. The exercises started with the clearance of mines that ended up on the sea-bed. This was followed by rendering harmless the traps planted in the area by symbolic terrorists. The training concluded with the practice of a maritime and air operations. A similar exercise is expected to take place in Turkey soon^[1].

[edit] Caspian Guard Initiative

Azerbaijani Navy vessels in the Baku Bay.

The Caspian Guard Initiative is a framework program designed to coordinate activities in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan with those of U.S. Central Command and other U.S government agencies to enhance Caspian security. The initiative assists the two countries in improving their ability to prevent and, if needed, respond to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, drug and human trafficking, and other transnational treats in the Caspian region. EUCOM is responsible for operations in Azerbaijan^[2].