A video shared by several Twitter users and Azerbaijani publications on Wednesday showed a truck carrying defense equipment, allegedly a batch of Pinaka rockets from New Delhi to the Armenian capital of Yerevan.
Azerbaijani media outlets alleged that India transferred the cargo to Armenia through Iran's Bandar Abbas port. Notably, Iran shares borders with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
India's exports of military hardware to Armenia have raised eyebrows in Azerbaijan with President Ilham Aliyev calling it an "unfriendly move" earlier this year.
What is Pinaka Rocket Launcher?
Developed by India's Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher System (MBRLS) is believed to be an equivalent of the American HIMARS (High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System).
Pinaka can tackle a multi-pronged drone attack because of its speciality to quickly "shoot and disappear".
The following year, Pinaka was formally inducted into the Indian Army.
Having a range of 40 kms, the current version of the Pinaka features six launchers having 12 rockets each.
A single unit of the Pinaka also includes two "command post" and six "loader-replenishment" vehicles. Besides, a fire control computer, and a radar are a part of Pinaka's package.
Strained Ties Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Armenia and Azerbaijan have shared frosty ties for decades, leading to deadly armed conflicts on multiple occasions between the two neighbors.
The first Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan was fought from 1991-1994.
The two nations were engaged in another armed conflict in 2020 before a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the hostilities. But tensions have continued to simmer between the neighboring sovereign states since then.