On August 6, 2024, Caliber.Az shared an exclusive report revealing that two US Air Force aircraft landed at Armenia's Zvartnots Airport on August 2 and 3. We also reported that the military cargo planes, Boeing C-17s, delivered military equipment to Armenia, including specialized devices for tracking the trajectories of missiles and other airborne objects launched from Iranian territory. In addition to the equipment, personnel were also deployed to operate the devices. To avoid drawing attention to the personnel, who will be stationed near the borders with Azerbaijan and Iran, the soldiers were carefully selected—most are US citizens of Armenian descent serving in the US military, as well as individuals of Slavic and Caucasian appearance who emigrated to the US from post-Soviet countries. The personnel were outfitted in Armenian military uniforms and stationed at an Armenian Armed Forces base in Zangezur.

The day after the sensational report by Caliber.Az was published, the US Embassy in Armenia quickly responded to the information about the deployment of American troops in Zangezur. In its statement, the US diplomatic mission said, "Eagle Partner 2024, a peacekeeping exercise designed to increase interoperability between the United States and Armenia, successfully concluded on July 24. We can confirm that all US military equipment and personnel have departed Armenia."

However, Eagle Partner 2024 took place in Armenia from July 15 to 24, while the US Air Force transport planes arrived in Armenia in early August. So, while the embassy did respond, it was not on point. As a result, they failed to refute the information we provided. It is evident that this was a diversionary tactic intended to confuse the public in the region.

As we promised in our article from August 7, we are presenting photos of one of the military transport planes that landed at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport, now available to the Caliber.Az editorial team.