Not Just Careless: Australian weapons part turns up on Armenian battlefield

An Australian-made transponder has been found in a downed Azerbaijani military drone in the most recent eruption of Azerbaijan’s long-running war with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The transponder was manufactured by Queensland company Microair Avionics. Microair has refused to disclose the identity of the buyer despite knowing this information via the unique serial code. Furthermore, after Michael West Media began making enquiries, Microair deleted from its website a list of its military industry “partners” for unmanned aerial systems (UASs).

Attacks by both sides of the conflict are likely to have violated the laws of war, with reports in international media and by Human…