The Russian Pantsir Air defense system found itself at the heart of two major stories on January 24: its alleged involvement in the downing of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 and the revelation of a previously unreported, high-value arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Azerbaijan-based international news channel AnewZ, citing sources familiar with the investigation, claimed that Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, downed on December 25, was hit by a missile from a Pantsir-S1 system.
The aircraft, an Embraer 190, was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Russia’s North Caucasus when it was unexpectedly diverted toward Aktau.
It crashed while attempting to land at another airport in Aktau, western Kazakhstan. The incident tragically claimed the lives of 38 people on board, while 29 others survived.
Soon after the incident, the President of Azerbaijan held the Russian military responsible, stating that the downing of the plane was an accidental action by their forces.

The new report disclosed that Russian authorities have also concluded that electronic warfare systems were used against the Azerbaijani aircraft, resulting in major malfunctions in its control systems before the crash.
Russian investigators have tracked down both the individual responsible for launching the missile and the official who authorized it. Nonetheless, it is uncertain whether Moscow will release their names.
Diplomatic sources in Azerbaijan informed AnewZ that Baku is determined to prevent the case from being swept under the carpet, standing firm in its demand for Russia to be held accountable.
Should Moscow fail to take responsibility for the tragedy, which claimed 38 lives and left 29 others injured, Azerbaijan is prepared to pursue the matter in international courts.
If the new revelation proves accurate, it corroborates the initial findings, which suggested an external explosion as the likely cause of the crash. High-resolution images and forensic analysis from the crash site showed damage that matched the characteristics of a missile strike rather than pointing to an internal malfunction.
Reports consistently indicate that the missile was fired at Flight 8243 during drone activity above Grozny, with shrapnel striking passengers and crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight.

Saudi Arabia’s $2.3B Deal With Russia
In another major development, an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which referenced leaked internal documents from Ruselectronics (a subsidiary of Russia’s Rostec defense corporation), has uncovered that in April 2021, Saudi Arabia signed a €2.2 billion (over USD$2.3 billion) deal with Russia to purchase 39 Pantsir air defense systems.
The investigation divulged that despite the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022, Saudi Arabia did not cancel the agreement.
The contract, which was signed on April 8, 2021, commits Saudi Arabia to pay over $2.3 billion for the delivery of 39 advanced Pantsir-S1M air defense systems, 10 mobile command posts, hundreds of missiles, transport vehicles, and communication systems.
The agreement was set to run until 2026, and the first payment of €326 million was made in August 2021. The first batch of equipment was scheduled for delivery by the end of 2023.
The report, citing trade records from the ImportGenius database, reveals that Rosoboronexport, another Rostec subsidiary, made two shipments to Saudi Arabia in late November 2023, delivering four “new special purpose motor vehicles” to a Saudi air defense base in Jeddah.
While the exact nature of the shipment remains unclear, it is believed to be part of the ongoing contract for the Pantsir systems.

The investigation also sheds light on Russia’s continued arms exports despite international sanctions and the war in Ukraine. It has been reported that Russia has continued supplying advanced weaponry to countries including Saudi Arabia, China, India, Algeria, and Egypt.
However, these nations risk facing secondary US sanctions for their continued purchases of Russian arms.
Saudi Arabia is one of the major operators of Patriot systems. Whether the Russians could have gained access to them is to be established. Emails indicate that Russia requested approval to visit Saudi air defense sites in 2022, although investigators could not confirm whether these visits actually occurred.

In October 2024, media reports first surfaced regarding Saudi Arabia’s purchase of the Pantsir systems. The investigation also uncovered a 69-page proposal outlining potential future cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Russian defense firms.
The proposal includes three potential contracts: one for the construction of maintenance facilities, another for a 15,000-square-meter center in Jeddah to train personnel on operating the Pantsir system, and a third to establish an assembly plant in Saudi Arabia for the production of Pantsir systems and ammunition.
The assembly plant, which was expected to be signed in the second half of 2022, was a key condition for Saudi Arabia when agreeing to the original Pantsir contract.
However, OCCRP investigators could not confirm whether any of the proposed contracts were finalized, as the leaked documents only cover records through May 2022.
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