He was called up for military service in October 2001. Since March 2014, he served in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces as an overtime military serviceman with the rank of sergeant. He attracted the attention of the leadership of the military unit for his exemplary service and was awarded by the Ministry of Defense. In 2018, he was awarded the "100 years of the Azerbaijan Army (1918-2018)" jubilee medal and got honorary awards.

A marksman of the "N" military unit, Sergeant Elmaddin Panahov fought in the battles for the liberation of Fuzuli during the Patriotic War, which was launched by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, on September 27th, 2020, in response to the constant provocations of Armenian armed forces on the front lines. He was heroically martyred while preventing the attack of the enemy in the battles in the direction of Fuzuli-Jabrayil-Khojavand regions on October 13. He was laid to rest in the Urkmazli village cemetery.

He was married. He left two sons named Ilkin and Omar behind.

By orders of the President, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, Elmaddin Panahov was posthumously awarded the "For the Motherland", "For distinction in battle", and "For the liberation of Fuzuli" medals.