The Armenian Armed Forces have downed a super expensive Israeli-made Elbit Hermes 900 drone, operated by the Azerbaijani military.

The border unrest between Armenia and Azerbaijan initiated by the latter on July 12 is still ongoing.

Footage from the Armenian military post where the aerial vehicle was shot down was published by the Defense Ministry on Tuesday, July 14.

According to former Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan, this is probably the first time ever such a drone has been downed.

The Elbit Hermes 900 is designed for tactical missions. It has an endurance of over 30 hours and can fly at a maximum altitude of 9,100 m, with a primary mission of reconnaissance, surveillance and communications relay. The Hermes 900 weighs 970 kg, with a payload capability of 300 kg․ Payload options include electro-optical/infrared sensors, synthetic-aperture radar/ground-moving target indication, communications and electronic intelligence, electronic warfare, and hyperspectral sensors.

Armenia, meanwhile, has for the first time ever used locally-produced combat drones.

On July 12, Azerbaijan launched two failed infiltration attempts on the border with Armenia whose troops immediately identified the saboteurs and thwarted them back to their positions. Since the next morning, the Azerbaijani military has been firing on the Armenian positions, also using large caliber grenade launchers and combat drones to target civilian homes in several border settlements. Four servicemen of the Armenian army have been killed, and two police officers and three contract soldiers have sustained slight injuries, while Azerbaijan has reported 11 deaths.