Two days after Pakistan declared that it has sealed an export deal for the JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jets with an unnamed ‘friendly nation’ at the Dubai Airshow 2025, a report claimed that the buyer could well be Bangladesh.
The development comes weeks after Bangladesh decided to equip its Army with Chinese-made SY-400 Missile Systems.
Bangladesh, which was born after a war with Pakistan in 1971, is looking for affordable options to modernise its armed forces by 2030 and has zeroed in on JF-17 Thunder Block IIIs as a great asset for its Air Force (BAF). Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the relations between Dhaka and Islamabad have improved. Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh's interim chief adviser, even created a diplomatic stir by gifting a "Greater Bangladesh" map to a Pakistani general, appearing to incorporate parts of India's Northeast.
More details to follow.
