A JF-17C Block III fighter that was displayed for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at Baku's Heydar Aliyev International Airport on 25 September 2024. (President of the Republic of Azerbaijan)
Azerbaijan had taken delivery of its first Pakistani-made JF-17C Block III multirole fighters, it was announced during the Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition (ADEX) 2024 held in Baku, when President Ilham Aliyev inspected one at the nearby Heydar Aliyev International Airport on 25 September.
The president's office released photographs of Aliyev sitting inside a fighter that it identified as a JF-17C Block III. “These aircraft have already been integrated into the arsenal of the air force of Azerbaijan,” it said. However, the aircraft shown in the photographs had Pakistan Air Force (PAF) markings, not Azerbaijani ones.
Citing unidentified Pakistani reports, the Azerbaijani media reported in February that a USD1.6 billion contract had been signed for an unspecified number of JF-17 Block IIIs.
The PAF released a video in July showing its chief of staff briefing Aliyev on the JF-17 Block III during a visit the president made to its National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP) at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, but the finalisation of the contract has not been officially confirmed until now.
The JF-17 is manufactured by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in partnership with China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, however no one in the PAC delegation at ADEX was authorised to speak to the media.
For more information on the JF-17, please seePAC JF-17 Thunder .
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