Azerbaijan Navy holds live-fire tactical exercise

In accordance with the training plan for 2026, a live-fire tactical exercise on the topic of "Conducting defensive operations in response to threats against critical energy maritime and coastal infrastructure" was held in the Navy with the participation of the Air Force, the Coast Guard of the State Border Service, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The exercise, involving the Navy"s combat, combat support, and supply ships, as well as naval special forces and marine infantry units was conducted in several phases.

The objective of the exercise was to improve the operational decision-making skills of commanders and enhance command-staff activities in extreme situations, as well as to assess the readiness of ships to carry out combat tasks both individually and as part of tactical groups.

According to the plan, the participating units were alerted, brought to full combat readiness, and deployed to the designated operational areas.

During the exercise, combat training activities on patrol operations, the suppression of sabotage and attack attempts, and the destruction and neutralization of aerial, surface, and underwater assets, naval mines, and basing points were successfully carried out by the Navy"s and the Coast Guard"s ship tactical and ship strike groups, as well as Air Force"s unmanned aerial vehicles.

In the next phase of the exercise, naval special forces units, operating in coordination with Navy"s and the Coast Guard"s ships, fulfilled tasks on the protection and defense of critical maritime and coastal infrastructure facilities, as well as coastal areas. They also conducted operations to eliminate reconnaissance and sabotage groups to prevent the simulated enemy"s sabotage and attack activities. In addition, with the support of Air Force"s helicopters, the units landed at terrorist base areas and neutralized armed groups concealed in shelters on the island and along the coastline.

With air support provided by helicopters and naval fire support from the artillery boats of the State Border Service and the Navy, Ship Operations Groups composed of naval special forces carried out combat tasks involving the interception of the hijacked vessel, as well as the rescue of the vessel and the hostages on board.

Marine infantry units conducted tactical operations to rescue hostages held in a settlement seized by terrorist groups.

Operations to extinguish a fire on a vessel blown up by terrorist groups, rescue casualties and persons who had fallen into the water, and neutralize mines attached to the vessel"s underwater hull were carried out with the involvement of the Navy"s Search and Rescue Service, as well as Emergency Situations Ministry"s vessels and boats, divers and rescue personnel, as well as firefighting and rescue helicopters.

During this phase, rapid evacuation of seriously wounded personnel to a medical vessel, along with the provision of medical care, was carried out using fast rescue boats.

At the end of the exercise, a demonstration passage of the participating authorities" ships, boats, and special equipment, as well as armed unmanned surface assets recently adopted into the armament, was conducted.

The main focus of the live-fire tactical exercise was the enhancement of joint activities with other types of troops and armed formations in carrying out tasks related to the protection and defense of critical energy infrastructure in the maritime area of the Caspian Sea, the territorial waters of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and coastal areas, as well as the improvement of interoperability and ship handling under various conditions.

The exercise participants demonstrated a high level of professionalism and successfully accomplished the assigned tasks.