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The Azerbaijan Navy () is the naval component of the
Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were ...
operating in the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
.


History

The inception of Azerbaijani Naval Forces dates back to August 5, 1919, when the government of the
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...
established the navy force on the basis of the Russian Imperial fleet deployed in the Azerbaijani sector of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
. The navy had 6 ships. After the establishment of Soviet rule in Azerbaijan, the navy was transferred to be under the jurisdiction of the
Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
. In 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Azerbaijani fleet of the Soviet Navy was divided between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation. In July 1992, the Azerbaijani ships were put into operation under Azerbaijani Flag in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. According to the Presidential Decree of
Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...
from 1996, August 5 was declared the ''Day of the Azerbaijani Navy''. As of today, the Azerbaijani Navy is considered the second strongest navy in the Caspian Sea after the Russian fleet. ''
Jane's Fighting Ships ''Janes Fighting Ships'' is an annual reference book of each country's warship, navy and coast guard, along with their weapons and aircraft. Included are ship names, construction data, size, speed, range, complement, engineering, armament, a ...
'' said in their entry for the Azerbaijani Navy in their 2001–2002 edition that 'the Coast Guard was formed in July 2002 with ships transferred from the
Caspian Flotilla The Caspian Flotilla () is the flotilla of the Russian Navy in the Caspian Sea. Established in November 1722 by the order of Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Caspian Flotilla is the oldest flotilla in the Russian ...
and the
Border Guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...
. By 1995 overall control had been resumed by the Russians in order to provide adequate maintenance and support. The aim is to be independent again in due course.'
Jane's Fighting Ships ''Janes Fighting Ships'' is an annual reference book of each country's warship, navy and coast guard, along with their weapons and aircraft. Included are ship names, construction data, size, speed, range, complement, engineering, armament, a ...
, 2001–2002 edition, p.35
It named the navy's commander at the time as Captain Rafig Asgarov.


Organization


Naval bases and installations

The navy operates two naval bases: one in
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
( Puta) and one for the Marines in Zığ. The current shipyard is located between Puta and Qaradagh. The Puta Base is the largest military facility in the Caspian Sea basin. Construction began on it in October 2010. It manages the Navy and provides comprehensive control over the surface conditions in the sector of the Caspian Sea belonging to Azerbaijan. There is also a Ship Repair Plant in the Navy. The site of the old Soviet Naval base in Baku is now transformed to non-military use include an arts centre.


Unit structure

Organizationally, the Azerbaijani Navy includes: * Main Headquarters * Surface Ship Brigade ** Water Area Protection Division ** Division of Landing Ships ** Division of Minesweepers ** Division of Search and Rescue Vessels' ** Training Courts Division * Brigade of Patrol Ships *
Marine Infantry Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
* 641st Naval Special Operations Brigade * Sea Sabotage and Reconnaissance Brigade * Reserve ** Azerbaijan Coast Guard *** Patrol Ship Brigade * Mobilization reserve ** Azerbaijan Merchant Fleet


Educational establishments

* Faculty of the Navy, Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy (the former Azerbaijan Higher Naval Academy) – training of officers of the fleet and naval units of the border troops * Training Center of the Azerbaijani Navy – training of warrant officers and foremen of the contract service.


Equipment


International cooperation


Cooperation with U.S.

In 2006, the U.S. Government donated three motorboats to the Azerbaijani Navy. There is also an agreement to provide U.S. support to refurbish Azerbaijani warships in the Caspian Sea. On May 19, 2006, the Azerbaijani and
Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...
held a joint military exercise on safeguarding the security of oil and gas pipelines in Baku. The training session was observed by Azerbaijan Navy commander
Shahin Sultanov Vice Admiral Shahin Sultanov () was the Commander of the Azerbaijani Navy, Azerbaijani Naval Forces from 1999 to 2014. Early life and career He was born on 8 August 1961 in the Goychay District of the Azerbaijan SSR. Sultanov graduated from the N ...
and
Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...
attaché Seyhan Ceyhan. The activities aimed to ensure the safety of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), the main export pipeline to take Caspian oil to Turkey and further on to world markets, as well as on expanding cooperation between the two countries’ military forces. The exercises started with the clearance of mines on the seabed. This was followed by rendering harmless the traps planted in the area by symbolic terrorists. The training concluded with the practice of maritime and air operations. In 2007, an agreement between the Azerbaijani Navy and a U.S. military company was concluded, which stated that a part of the Azerbaijani Navy would be equipped with advanced laser marksmanship devices/systems. U.S. company specialists were also due to give training for the use of this new equipment.


Caspian Guard Initiative

The Caspian Guard Initiative is a framework program designed to coordinate activities in Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
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 threats in the Caspian region. EUCOM is responsible for operations in Azerbaijan.


Commanders


Ranks and insignia


Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of
commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
s.


Other ranks

The rank insignia of
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
s and
enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...
.


See also

*
Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were ...
*
Chief of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan Republic () is the Staff (military), military staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration and oversees operational management of the armed fo ...


References

{{Azerbaijan topics Military of Azerbaijan Navies by country Riverine warfare 1992 establishments in Azerbaijan Naval forces in the Caspian Sea