The JF-17 Thunder, developed jointly by Chinese and Pakistani state-run aerospace firms, has a new foreign customer in Azerbaijan.

A former Soviet republic is now officially operating the JF-17 Thunder, a fourth-generation fighter jet unusually co-developed by China and Pakistan.

Azerbaijan confirmed this week that it has received the long-awaited deliveries of the advanced, lightweight, all-weather multirole combat aircraft. Two single-seat Block III fighters—tail numbers 24-501 and 24-502—were seen taxiing and taking off in a new video released on Monday by the Central Asia nation’s Ministry of Defense.

The ministry didn’t confirm where the aircraft were based. 

According to international military analyst firm Janes, the Nasosnaya Air Base near the city of Sumqayit on the Caspian Sea was recently upgraded, and would be the most likely facility to host the fighters. Originally built for the Soviet Air Force before World War II, Nasosnaya is currently the main fighter jet base for the Azerbaijani Air Force and Air Defense Force, serving as the central hub for the country’s air interception and combat air patrols.

Azerbaijan initially ordered 16 of the Sino-Pakistani-developed aircraft last summer. It later increased that number to 40 in a deal valued at $4.6 billion, which also included $2 billion in industrial cooperation and infrastructure investment. The larger deal comes as part of the country’s efforts to increase its defense capabilities and to replace its legacy Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters.

Janes also observed that the JF-17s had the word “Jaguar” written in Latin script and a graphic of a jaguar painted on their tails, which it noted was most likely a fighter squadron emblem.

About the China-Pakistan JF-17 Thunder

• Year Introduced: 2007
• Number Built: 110+
• Length: 49 ft (14.93 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft (9.45 m)
• Engines: Russian-made Klimov RD-93 (Blocks I & II); RD-93MA (Block III)
• Top Speed: 1,190 mph (1,910 km/h) / Mach 1.8
• Combat Radius: 560 mi (900 km)
• Service Ceiling: 55,500 ft (16,930 m)
• Loadout: SD-10 AAMs (beyond-visual-range, BVR), PL-5EII (short-range) missiles, LS-6 Glide Bombs, C-802AK anti-ship missiles, and GBU-series laser-guided bombs
• Aircrew: 1

Jointly developed and built by the Pakistani Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC), the JF-17, also sometimes known as the FC-1 Xiaolong, was designed to provide a modern air superiority combat aircraft with strike capabilities for developing markets.

“The JF-17 was designed for air-to-air interception, ground attack, anti-ship, and reconnaissance mission sets. While the Blocks I and II were capable fighters, the Block III is the most impressive,” Brandon Weichert wrote for The National Interest in January.

The Block III models are the most advanced variants of the Thunder family. The aircraft are equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a wide-area panoramic glass cockpit, fly-by-wire flight control system, and a helmet-mounted display and sight (HMD/S) system that enables the pilot to target an adversary by looking at it. The aircraft can also carry Chinese-made beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles, including the PL-15, and within-visual-range missiles like the PL-10 for close-quarters aerial combat.

Despite its advanced capabilities, the JF-17 Block III is reported to have an estimated per-unit cost of around $30 million, far less than comparable Western or Russian-made fighters. A new Block 70/72 variant of the F-16 Fighting Falcon can cost $60–70 million per unit, while more cutting-edge jets like the F-15EX Eagle II and F-35 Lightning each cost $100 million or more.

The JF-17 Is Causing ‘Thunder’ in Emerging Markets

CAC manufactures much of the airframe, and PAC handles final assembly, which has been efficient as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) remains the primary operator of the JF-17. The jet has so far been sold to Nigeria and Myanmar, which reportedly lost one of the aircraft to rebel activity last year.

CAC and PAC are actively seeking additional foreign buyers in Central Asia and the Middle East. Several nations, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Libya, and Sudan, are actively discussing the purchase of the Thunder. Outside the Middle East, Bangladesh and Indonesia have also weighed the potential procurement of the export fighter.

The $4.6 billion agreement with Azerbaijan would be Islamabad’s largest-ever defense export contract.

“The induction also strengthens trilateral Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Turkey defence alignment because the JF-17 ecosystem increasingly supports interoperability with Turkish unmanned systems, Aselsan targeting pods, tactical datalinks, and broader NATO-inspired digital battlespace management architectures,” Defence Security Asia explained.

Beyond potentially leveling the playing field with India, the JF-17 could also serve to bolster Pakistan’s status as a regional power and arms exporter. 

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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