The An-2 unmanned decoy / converted UCAV was Azerbaijan's improvised adaptation of the Soviet Antonov An-2 utility biplane for the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Azerbaijani forces used converted An-2s as expendable unmanned aircraft to enter Armenian air-defense engagement zones, draw fire, and reveal radar or launcher positions for TB2s, Harop loitering munitions, air strikes, or artillery, while separate reporting described some conversions carrying explosive payloads or FAB-250 bombs.
Azerbaijan fielded converted Soviet-era An-2 biplanes during the 2020 war as unmanned decoys to draw Armenian air-defense fire and expose radar or launcher positions for follow-on UAV, loitering-munition, air-strike, or artillery attacks; some reporting also described FAB-250 bomb drops and explosive payloads on selected conversions.
Azerbaijan's converted An-2s mattered less as airframes than as triggers in a wider suppression-of-enemy-air-defenses cycle. The slow biplanes were sent into defended airspace where Armenian crews could mistake them for easy targets; once radars, launchers, or firing positions reacted, other Azerbaijani systems could attack.
U.S. Army and RAF analyses describe remotely piloted or unmanned An-2 biplanes used to force Armenian air defenses to respond and reveal positions.
Exposed targets were then vulnerable to TB2s, Harop loitering munitions, air strikes, indirect fire, or coordinated artillery.
Some sources describe explosive payloads or FAB-250 drops, but the conversion package and exact number of bomb-carrying aircraft are not publicly confirmed.
The cataloged system is not a factory Antonov variant. It is a conflict-specific Azerbaijani conversion of the An-2 airframe, so the rows separate the underlying utility aircraft from the documented improvised unmanned roles.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-2 base utility biplane | Crewed utility aircraft | Antonov and The Museum of Flight identify the An-2 as an OKB-153/Oleg Antonov utility biplane introduced in 1947 and produced in multiple civil, military, and scientific variants. Sources: Antonov AN-2, Antonov An-2 Colt |
| Converted unmanned decoy aircraft | Remote or unmanned decoy | U.S. Army and RAF analyses describe Azerbaijani An-2 biplanes repurposed as low-flying decoys to trigger Armenian air-defense reactions and expose targets. Sources: U.S. Army Nagorno-Karabakh 2020 Conflict Catalog, RAF Air and Space Power Review UCAV Article |
| Reported explosive or bomb-carrying conversion | Improvised attack payload | Hybrid CoE says a converted An-2 transport aircraft dropped FAB 250 kg free-fall bombs, while Hetq reported wreckage claims involving explosive payloads. Sources: Hybrid CoE Working Paper 10, Azerbaijani Military Retools Old Crop Duster Planes as Attack Drones |
Open reporting on the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war ties converted An-2 aircraft to FAB 250 kg free-fall bombs.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 250 kg aerial bomb | The Hybrid CoE working paper says Azerbaijan used a converted An-2 transport aircraft as a remote-controlled system and dropped FAB 250 kg free-fall bombs during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Sources: Hybrid CoE Working Paper 10 |
The Antonov An-2 first flew in August 1947 as the first design of OKB-153 under Oleg Antonov, long before the conflict-specific Azerbaijani unmanned conversion.
Sources: Antonov An-2 Colt
Early war reporting described Azerbaijani An-2 aircraft shot down over the front and said the aircraft were being converted into ad hoc unmanned aircraft to identify air-defense positions.
Sources: Azerbaijani Military Turns Soviet Biplane Aircraft Into Drones
Later military analyses described the An-2 decoys as part of Azerbaijan's suppression of enemy air defenses, exposing Armenian radars and launchers for strikes by TB2s, Harops, air strikes, or artillery.
Sources: U.S. Army Nagorno-Karabakh 2020 Conflict Catalog, RAF Air and Space Power Review UCAV Article
