| Azerbaijani Air Forces | |
|---|---|
| Azərbaycan Hərbi Hava Qüvvələri | |
 Emblem of the Azerbaijani Air Forces | |
| Founded |
|
| Country |
|
| Type | Air force |
| Role | |
| Size |
|
| Part of | Azerbaijani Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Nasosnaya Air Base |
| Anniversaries | 14 February (Air Force Day)[1] |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commander of the Air Force | Lieutenant GeneralNamig Islamzadeh[2] |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Flag |  |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Su-25,An-2,Bayraktar TB2,Bayraktar Akıncı,IAI Harop, SkyStriker |
| Electronic warfare | Elbit Hermes 900 |
| Fighter | MiG-29 |
| Helicopter | Mil Mi-17,Ka-32,Bell 412 |
| Attack helicopter | Mil Mi-24,Mil Mi-35M |
| Trainer helicopter | PZL Mi-2 |
| Reconnaissance | Orbiter UAV,Aerostar TUAV,Hermes 450,IAI Searcher,IAI Heron |
| Trainer | Aero L-39,Super Mushshak,MiG-29UB |
| Transport | C-27J,Il-76 |
TheAzerbaijani Air Forces and Air Defense Troops (stylized asHHQ və HHM Qoşunları), composed of theAzerbaijani Air Forces (Azerbaijani:Azərbaycan Hərbi Hava Qüvvələri) and theAzerbaijani Air Defense Troops (Azərbaycan Hava Hücumundan Müdafiə Qoşunları), are theair andair defense service branch of theAzerbaijani Armed Forces.
The Azerbaijani Air Forces trace their origin to 1919 during the short-livedAzerbaijan Democratic Republic, which had originally bought its first military aircraft on 26 June 1918. Following Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the former Soviet air bases in the country helped to develop the Air Forces and Air Defense Troops.[3]
On February 11, 2009, theCommander of the Air Force,Lieutenant GeneralRail Rzayev, was assassinated outside his home by an unidentified armed assailant.[4] Rzayev had been reportedly negotiating closer ties with the United States regarding air force modernisation before his death, possibly including the acquisition of US fighter aircraft.[5] He was succeeded byMajor-GeneralAltay Mehdiyev who was appointed the new Commander of the Air Forces on 12 May 2009.[6][7]
Brinkster.net reported in October 2004 that the Azerbaijani Air and Air Defense Force comprised a fightersquadron atNasosnaya Air Base with MiG-25PDs and training variants, a bomber aviation regiment atKyurdamir with Su-17/24/25, MiG-21s, and L-29/39s, a transport aviation squadron atGanja Airport with Il-76s(?), Аn-12/24, and Тu-134s, a helicopter squadron atBaku Kala Air Base with Mi-2/8/24s, two aircraft repair factories, and two air defense missile units. Other air bases includeDollyar Air Base (which Jane's Sentinel says is reported to be non-operational),[2]Nakhchivan Airport in theNakhchivan exclave,Sanqacal Air Base, andSitalcay Air Base.
The units at Nasosnaya, Kyurdamir and the helicopter force at Baku Kala now appear to be numbered the 408th, 411th, and 843rd units.
The Air Defense Force is a component of the Air and Air Defense Force of Azerbaijan.[2] There are some installations of theCold War era left by the Soviets in 1990.
The Azerbaijan Higher Military Aviation School is the educational institution of the Azerbaijani Air Force and a branch of the education system of theMinistry of Defense of Azerbaijan.[8] In 1997, the school graduated its first class of military pilots.[9][10] By presidential decree of 24 December 2015, the school was abolished and transferred to theAzerbaijan Higher Military Academy with the establishment of the corresponding faculties there.[11]
Azerbaijani pilots are trained at the Azerbaijan Air Force School and then develop their skills further within their units. Azerbaijan has an experience exchange withTurkey, the United States,Ukraine, and a number of otherNATO countries.Turkish Air Force School plays a great role in the training of military pilots.[12] The Azerbaijani pilots are also trained in Ukraine's Pilot Training School.[13]
The United States is the most active participant in the modernisation of Air Force airfields.[13] Airfields in Gala and theNasosnaya Air Base nearHaji Zeynalabidin settlement have been modernised with US support as part of the Azerbaijan-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan. Special equipment were installed there to provide flight security. The starting command points, engineering control systems and engineering air force service were provided with new buildings. Negotiations over the modernisation ofKurdamir airfield are currently under way. An advanced Flight Control System has been installed atDollyar Air Base with support from the United States.
Since September 2008, Turkey has helped to modernise the Air Force central command headquarters. According to a Turkish-Azerbaijani agreement, a NATO standard central command management center will be installed there. A great number of projects such as joint manufacture of unmanned aircraft will be implemented with Turkey in the near future.[14][15]
TheGabala OTH Radar was operated by theRussian Space Forces. The radar station had a range of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,728 mi), and was designed to detect missile launches as far as from the Indian Ocean. It is not known whether Russia shared any of the radar's data with Azerbaijan. The equipment was dismantled and sent back to Russia after 2012.
In 2006, the US provided Azerbaijani military with additional radar installations. Plans were announced for the US to modernize one radar station near the Iranian border atLerik and another near the border with Georgia atAgstafa. Joint work also commenced on two radar stations on the Russia-Azerbaijani border and Iran-Azerbaijani border to monitorCaspian Sea traffic.[16][17]
The MiG-29 has been designated as the standard aircraft for the AzAF.[18]In September–October 2010, Azerbaijan purchased 24 Mi-35M fromRostvertol.[19][20][21] 8 of them have been delivered in the end of the first quarter of 2012 and four more in August 2012.[22]With the arrival of the MiG-29s, the Air Force appears to have retired the MiG-25PDS aircraft that it used to fly fromNasosnaya Air Base.[23] IISS estimates in 2007 reported 26 as still in service; other figures previously placed the total as high as 38.[24][25]
The Air Force retains in store andL-39 fighter training aircraft produced in theCzech Republic andUkraine.[13]
Azerbaijan also manufactures Israeli-designed spy planes. Among the licensed UAVs is theOrbiter-2M and the Aerostar. Both are manufactured at the government-owned Azad Systems Company plant near Baku.[26][27][28] The head of the Defense Industry, Yaver Jamalov, said that by the end of 2011 a total of 60 UAVs will be produced.[29][30]
In 2016 three Bell 412 helicopters were purchased fromCanada, and by 2018 a number of pilots were trained in the type. A further undisclosed number ofBell 407 andMD-530 helicopters were obtained but neither type is currently operational as pilots have not been trained yet.[31]
In 2023, a contract was signed for the modernization of Su-25s currently in use by the Azerbaijani Air Force. The project aimed to carry out the integration of Turkish Guided Ammunition Weapon Systems and avionics into the aircraft.[32]
In 2025, a contract worth US$4.6 billion was signed with Pakistan for the purchase of 40 JF-17C Block 3 multi-role combat aircraft for the Azerbaijani Air Force including the aircraft, training, and ordnance.[33]
On 6 April 2025, some news sources announced that Azerbaijan received its firstSOM cruise missiles and conducted launch tests.[34]
Azerbaijan has also a number of missile systems covering Azerbaijani airspace. TheS-75 Dvina has been installed around Baku and additional installations are near the border with Iran andDagestan. Some are installed to defend against Armenian aircraft. In terms of numbers, theIISS reported in 2002 that Azerbaijan had 100S-75 Dvina,S-125 Neva/Pechora, andS-200 systems.[43] Among them are the medium range2K11 Krug (retired in 2021), for short range the9K33 Osa and the9K35 Strela-10 mobile SAM and theZSU-23-4 Shilka vehicles to cover the armored forces against airstrikes. Azerbaijan has also lighterAA guns andMANPADS of varying quality.
In 2009 Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry signed a contract with Russia's Rosoboronexport company to buy two battalions ofS-300PMU-2 Favorit.[44][45]
In January 2012, Azerbaijan and Israel signed a $1.6 billion deal that includes anti-aircraft and missile defense systems.[46]
| Name | Origin | Type | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAM | ||||
| S-300PMU2[47] | Russia | SAM system | 2 units with 200 missiles[48] | |
| Barak 8[49] | India /Israel | SAM system | Unknown quantity[50] | |
| Pechora-2TM | Russia | SAM system | 3 units[48] | |
| 9K37 Buk-M1 | Russia | Mobile SAM system | 2 units[48] | |
| Igla-S/SA-24 | Russia | MANPADS | 1000[48] | |
Jane's said in 2009 that 'efforts to acquire more modern hardware are understood to have been underway for several years, but funding constraints proved to be a stumbling block. Until quite recently, only limited success was achieved, with the most significant addition to the inventory being a handful of Su-25s that were obtained fromGeorgia in 2002. In 2007, however, Azerbaijan took delivery of the first of a substantial number of MiG-29 'Fulcrum' fighters. These are understood to have originated from disparate sources, includingBelarus, Russia and Ukraine, with at least some having been overhauled atOdesa in Ukraine prior to delivery.[51]
In January 2008, Azerbaijan engaged in talks with Pakistan over theJF-17 Thunder's possible sale to Azerbaijan.[52] In 2015, the Azerbaijani Air Forces negotiated with China for several dozen JF-17s worth approximatelyUS$16 to 18 million each.[53] In 2018, Pakistani Armed Forces actively discussed military and defence cooperation with Azerbaijan, culminating in the latter expressing an interest in purchasing the fighter jet.[54] In December 2018,Turan, an independent Azerbaijani news agency, reported that the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan on the purchase of JF-17 Block II combat aircraft were coming to the end.[55] In December 2019, Azerbaijan, eyeing military cooperation with Pakistan, again expressed its interest in purchasing the aircraft.[56] In 2025, Azerbaijan finalized the purchase of 40 JF-17 Block III fighter jets for $4.6 billion, bringing the cost to approximately $115 million per aircraft.[33]
On 20 February 2020, Azerbaijan'sDefense MinisterZakir Hasanov signed a preliminary agreement on the procurement ofAlenia Aermacchi M-346 Master during the PresidentIlham Aliyev's visit to Italy on that day. The Air Force plans to purchase 10-15 aircraft.[57]
The rank insignia ofcommissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Azerbaijani Air Force[62] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| General-polkovnik | General-leytenant | General-mayor | Polkovnik | Polkovnik-leytenant | Mayor | Kapitan | Baş leytenant | Leytenant | Kiçik leytenant | |||||||||||||||
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijani Air Force[62] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baş gizir | Gizir | Kiçik gizir | Baş çavuş | Çavuş | Kiçik çavuş | Baş əsgər | Əsgər | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets of theMinistry of Defence |  | |
|---|---|---|
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