Azerbaijan Plans to Buy 24 JF-17 Block II Fighters

Azerbaijan, a Russian ally reportedly considering to buy 24 JF-17 fighter jets from Pakistan.

Despite the information that appeared earlier that after the end of the armed conflict in Karabakh, Azerbaijan rejected Russian offer to buy a batch of MiG-35 fighters for its air force, it became known that in the first half of this year the Azerbaijani Air Force will equip its air force with JF-17, which are joint Pakistani-Chinese combat aircraft.

Negotiations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan on the purchase of JF-17 Block II combat aircraft are coming to the end, the representative of the company “Pakistan Aeronautical Complex” (PAC) informed Azeri Defense at the international exhibition İDEAS-2018 in Karachi.

The source noted that all issues related to the export to Azerbaijan have already been resolved. Planes of JF-17 Blok II configuration requested by Azerbaijan passed the test.

Versions of the Block II aircraft are already being used by Pakistani military aircraft and have proven themselves in practice. They have improved avionics and electronic security systems.

It is assumed that 24 such aircraft will be delivered to Azerbaijan, with a total value of $500 million.

It is known that the supply of JF-17 fighters to the Azerbaijani Air Force will be carried out by Pakistan in exchange for oil and oil products, while in total 10 fighter aircraft will be transferred to Azerbaijan within the next years, which will significantly strengthen the Air Force of this country.

In Azerbaijan itself stated that the capabilities of the JF-17 fighters are unknown, stating that in terms of its characteristics this combat aircraft is less than to South Korean FA-50 light combat aircraft available.

Since the defeat of Armenia, whether in the future Baku will consider the acquisition of Russian weapons, including helicopters and airplanes, remains unknown.

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