Can China’s military jets find favour in arms markets dominated by US, Russia?

According to the announcement, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Pakistan’s support “would go a long way” in consolidating the existing military cooperation between the two countries.

The 4.5-generation multirole combat aircraft was co-developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aerospace Corporation and has already been taken up by Myanmar, Nigeria and Iraq.

The Pakistani military said the JF-17 fighter jets were capable of a “wide array of combat missions” and provided “contemporary air power … options” to strengthen Azerbaijan’s “national security paradigm”.

Pakistan, which accounts for around 60 per cent of China’s arms exports, has 161 JF-17 units in its air force and around 20 J-10C units – the Chinese-made 4.5-generation warplanes that have been compared to the American F-16.