Pakistan Confirms Inking of Deal with Azerbaijan for JF-17

07 Jun 2025, 22:34
4 mins

The Government of Pakistan confirmed that Azerbaijan has inked the deal to acquire 40 JF-17 fighters at a cost of $2 billion alongside a defence agreement.

Acquisition of JF-17 Block III has been on the table for Azerbaijan, which seeks to modernise its fighter fleet that currently consists of ex-USSR aircraft like MiG-29 and Su-25. Pakistani Government confirmed the inking of a deal which includes 40 fighters at a cost of $2 billion, which indicates an average unit cost of $50 million.

The statement added that a defence agreement worth $4.6 billion was signed between the two countries without details. Considering the scale, weaponry for the new fighter might be a mere part of this.

JF-17 Block III for Azerbaijan

Compared to MiG-29, considerably larger fighters, JF-17 Block III will bring advantages to Azerbaijan on a new level thanks to modern sensor and weaponry options. There are both political and technical reasons for Azerbaijan’s pick ending up as JF-17.

Firstly, Azerbaijan’s options were limited as the solution had to arrive swiftly, which points out to a country that would provide the smoothest process for negotiations. European countries and the U.S. can not be considered ideal for Azerbaijan due to the anti-Azerbaijan diaspora presence in the senates/parliaments, while Russia has its hands full with the Russo-Ukrainian War.

This has brought forward Pakistan with its JF-17 fighter, which is a major ally of Turkiye, like Azerbaijan, as a politically and bureaucratically faster option.

JF-17 is a joint development by the Pakistani Aeronautical Complex and the Chinese Chengdu Aviation Complex to answer the needs of Pakistan for a new lightweight fighter, as the F-16s’ fate was considered uncertain at the time. Pakistan and China share the aircraft’s development and production.

In technical terms, JF-17 Block III can be likened to the Swedish Gripen E/F in philosophy, which focuses on ease of maintenance and low operating/acquisition costs. This is important for Azerbaijan as it will be switching to a whole new interface for its fighter fleet.

Turkish Equipment on Azerbaijan’s JF-17?

When it comes to equipment, most of the aircraft’s avionics are supplied by China with a balanced use of Pakistani (Bombs and cruise missiles) and Chinese munitions (PL-15E BVRAAM, CM-400AKG anti-radiation missile). Pakistan has more freedom on JF-17’s integration work compared to its fleet of J-10C fighters as one of the two developers. This is evidenced by the integration of Turkish ASELPOD targeting pod on the fighters. This might be taken a step further in Azerbaijan’s case, as Turkiye’s integration capabilities on foreign aircraft have been tested recently.

Turkish Laçın modernisation package for Azerbaijan’s Su-25 attack aircraft sheds some light on possibilities with its use of the UBAS aircraft-agnostic fire control system, which can allow the use of even sophisticated munitions like SOM-B1 in addition to guided bombs. Considering Pakistan’s position as a partner in JF-17 and no apparent objection from China to the integration of ASELPOD, Azerbaijani JF-17 Block IIIs using UBAS to access Turkish munitions is a possibility that should not be ruled out.

Will JF-17 Acquisition Affect KAAN for Azerbaijan?

Previously, during IDEF’23, an agreement was signed to start evaluating the industrial capabilities in Azerbaijan. This serves as a preliminary step in cooperation to decide which parts of production can take place in Azerbaijan rather than a declaration of acquisition.

Considering KAAN’s roadmap for deployment in Turkiye and the fact that KAAN is in another class compared to JF-17 Block III, Azerbaijan can be taken as addressing an urgent need with something ready and from a manufacturer that has strong ties with Turkiye. Thus, JF-17 Block III is not likely to intersect with a potential KAAN fighter acquisition from Azerbaijan.

Author:Kaan Azman

Editor:Özgür Ekşi