Pakistan has inked a $1.6 billion deal to export JF-17C Block-III warplanes to Azerbaijan, the country's largest order to supply defense equipment abroad, the South Caucasus nation's media reported on Thursday.
As part of the agreement, Azerbaijan would receive 8 JF-17C Block-III aircraft from Pakistan besides ammunition, including air-to-surface missiles.
The South Asian sovereign state would also train Azerbaijani military personnel in air combat.
This would mean that Azerbaijani troops would undertake sorties on the JF-17C Block-III under the supervision of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) servicemen.
With this Azerbaijan joins Myanmar and Nigeria as the other two nations that have acquired JF-17 Thunder jets from Pakistan.
Interestingly, Pakistan is among a handful of countries with diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan and its arch-foe Armenia.
However, the Islamic Republic has been one of the staunchest supporters of Baku in its conflict with Yerevan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-long dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region which was administered by the former till September 2023 before the latter took complete control over it in January 2024.