Russian Missile Allegedly Downs Azerbaijan Airlines E190 in Kazakhstan: Preliminary Report

A preliminary investigation by Azerbaijan concluded that a Russian missile shot down a commercial aircraft manufactured by Embraer in Kazakhstan.

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The E190-E1 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) was conducting a flight between Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and Grozny, in Chechnya, southern Russia. Onboard were 67 people, 38 of whom died after the aircraft crashed into the ground in Kazakh territory, on the other side of the Caspian Sea.

Signs on the aircraft indicate external damage, allegedly caused by the proximity explosion of an anti-aircraft missile. The Azerbaijani government has reportedly confirmed that a Russian missile struck the aircraft.

The information was provided by Azerbaijani government sources to Euronews, which exclusively reported that the anti-aircraft system used against the E190 was a Pantsir-S, engaged in countering Ukrainian drone attacks in the same region. This aligns with the decision of AZAL to suspend flights to Russia following the crash of the E190.

This system features 12 radar-guided anti-aircraft missiles mounted on a launcher vehicle atop a truck, which also includes two 30 mm cannons for close-range defense.

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The missile can carry a fragmentation warhead that detonates near the target, releasing numerous fragments (similar to a hand grenade) to cause damage rendering the target unable to continue flying. It remains unclear how the missile failed to fully down the aircraft. One hypothesis is that there was a preemptive detonation commanded by the launch battery upon detecting that the target was not a drone but a civilian aircraft.

According to reports from our partner outlet, AEROIN, the Pantsir system was almost acquired by Brazil in 2013, shortly after the purchase of Hind helicopters. At that time, the federal government planned to buy three batteries, each with 12 launchers, to equip one unit from each branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, primarily to protect airspace during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

However, due to budget constraints, the Brazilian government canceled the purchase and opted instead for used Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles, based on the German Leopard 1 tank platform, already in use by the Brazilian Army. This system, however, lacks anti-aircraft missiles and relies solely on 35 mm cannons to neutralize targets.