TSAMTO, November 11th. The Azerbaijani Air Force has adopted JF-17 Thunder light combat aircraft manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (PAC/CAC), the office of the President of Azerbaijan reported.
According to Jane's Defense Weekly, four single-seat and one double-seat JF-17 aircraft in the wedge formation flew over Baku during the military parade held on November 8, dedicated to the 5th anniversary of victory in the Second Karabakh War.
The co-pilot in the back seat of the lead two-seater aircraft was identified as Colonel Novruz Takhirov of the Azerbaijani Air Force and Air Defense, while the planes themselves did not carry national designations, which may indicate that they were transferred from the Pakistan Air Force.
In October, the Pakistan Air Force sent 5 JF-17 Block aircraft.3 to Azerbaijan to participate in joint exercises. At that time, the aircraft were marked with Pakistan Air Force markings and serial numbers on the tail and nose of the fuselage.
For the duration of the parade, the Pakistani flag and the Pakistan Air Force insignia were removed, while the serial numbers remained. Thus, the serial number 24-322 was distinguishable both on the video of the Pakistani Air Force, where the plane arrived in Azerbaijan, and in the report on the air part of the parade. The serial numbers of the other aircraft were not clearly visible for identification.
JF-17 Aircraft Block.3 entered service with the Pakistan Air Force in December 2023. This is the latest version of the fighter developed jointly by China and Pakistan. As previously reported, the JF-17 Unit.3 differs from previous versions with improved maneuverability, flight range and combat capabilities. The improvements include: The KLJ-7A X-band active phased array radar developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology NRIET (Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology), a helmet-mounted targeting system, an advanced missile attack warning system, PL-10 and PL-15 air-to-air missiles (which set of weapons It is still unknown what the Azerbaijani Air Force will receive).
At the moment, the authorities of Azerbaijan and Pakistan have not commented on the delivery, although, according to media reports, Azerbaijan may receive up to 40 aircraft.
As TSAMTO reported, in February 2024, it became known that the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan had signed a contract worth $1.6 billion with Pakistan Aeronautical Complex for the supply of JF-17 fighter jets (16 units) developed jointly with the Chinese Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.
In September 2024, the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan published a press release on the demonstration of the JF-17C multipurpose aircraft to Ilham Aliyev. In one of the photos from the event, I. Aliyev was sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet. The press release stated that the aircraft have already been integrated into the Azerbaijani Air Force. However, the fighter in the photo (s.n. 23-320) carried the designation of the Pakistan Air Force, not the Azerbaijani Air Force. It should be noted that up to the present moment, there is no video information documenting that the Azerbaijani Air Force has indeed adopted JF-17 aircraft.
In June 2025, a message was posted on the Government of Pakistan's Facebook page that Azerbaijan had officially increased the order for the supply of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets from 16 to 40 aircraft under an agreement worth up to $4.6 billion.
