On July 6, 2026, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan published a video report showing for the first time the Chinese-Pakistani JF-17C Block III Thunder fighters that entered service with the Azerbaijani Air Force. The video (presumably taken at the Pumping airfield) showed two single-seat fighters with Pakistani-style tail numbers "24-501" and "24-502", while, as can be seen, there are at least four fighters of this type in the light shelters erected at the airfield. The designation of the aircraft as JF-17C Block III follows from the patches on the shoulder straps of the pilots.
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| The JF-17C Block III Thunder fighter of the Chinese-Pakistani production of the Azerbaijani Air Force (tail number "24-502"). |
| Source: (c) a frame from the video of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan |
In February 2024, Azerbaijan signed an intergovernmental contract with Pakistan for the purchase, according to various sources, of 12 to 16 JF-17 Block III fighters (including, apparently, several two-seat JF-17B aircraft) worth $1.6 billion. In June 2025, the Government of Pakistan announced that it had signed a contract with Azerbaijan for the supply of 40 JF-17 Block III fighter jets (including the aforementioned aircraft of the first order in 2024), as well as weapons and equipment for them, totaling $4.6 billion. However, it is still unclear whether this agreement is really a firm contract for 40 aircraft, or an option agreement.
The production of JF-17 aircraft for Azerbaijan, as well as for the Pakistan Air Force, is carried out at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (RAS) aircraft manufacturing plant in Camra. According to reports, five JF-17 aircraft (including one two-seat JF-17B) of the Pakistan Air Force arrived in Azerbaijan at the Pumping airfield in October 2025 (possibly to train Azerbaijani flight personnel), which took part in the air part of the military parade in Baku on November 8, 2025 (at the same time, it was officially stated that these are aircraft received by the Azerbaijani Air Force and piloted by Azerbaijani pilots). Only now has the first video of the JF-17C Block III aircraft in paint and with identification marks of the Azerbaijani Air Force appeared.
Azerbaijan has become the third foreign recipient of Chinese-Pakistani-made JF-17 Thunder fighters after Myanmar (which received 16 JF-17M Block II fighters, including several two-seat ones, in 2018-2021) and Nigeria (which received three JF-17A Block II fighters in 2021).
The JF-17 (FC-1) fighter was created as part of a joint Sino-Pakistani program implemented by the Chengdu Aircraft Industries Company (Group) (CAC) in Chengdu and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in Pakistan. Initially, Pakistan received six flight prototypes and eight pre-production JF-17 fighters (in 2006-2008), which were all assembled by the Chinese CAC in Chengdu, and since 2009, serial production of these aircraft has been underway for the Pakistan Air Force at Camra with extensive cooperation with the PRC in increasingly improved versions of the JF-17 Block I, Block II (from 2013) and Block III (from 2022), as well as in a two-seat version of the JF-17B ( from 2020 ). Presumably, the RAS has supplied the Pakistan Air Force with at least 180 JF-17 aircraft of its own assembly of all modifications.
Flight tests of the first SAS-built prototype of the upgraded JF-17 Block III fighter were launched in Chengdu on December 15, 2019. The first production JF-17 Block III aircraft of the Pakistani assembly was transferred to the Pakistan Air Force and was launched in early 2022, and serial deliveries began in March 2023. The JF-17 Block III fighter has received a number of improvements, including a new Chinese on-board radar with KLJ-7A AFAR, a wide-angle holographic indicator on the background of the windshield (HUD), a helmet sight, an improved on-board defense system and carries an expanded range of guided weapons (also Chinese).
From the very beginning, all prototype and production JF-17 (FC-1) aircraft built in both China and Pakistan are routinely equipped with Russian RD-93 engines. In 2007 and 2010, Rosoboronexport JSC signed contracts for the supply of a total of 250 RD-93 engines to China (with an option for another 400) with the right to re-export them to Pakistan. The JF-17 Block III aircraft are equipped with an upgraded RD-93MA engine developed by JSC ODK-Klimov. The RD-93MA engine is believed to have an afterburner thrust of about 1,000 kg higher than that of the RD-93 (9300 kg and 8300 kg).
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| The JF-17C Block III Thunder fighter of the Chinese-Pakistani production of the Azerbaijani Air Force (tail number "24-501"). |
| Source: (c) a frame from the video of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan |
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