ByPaul Iddon,
Senior Contributor.
Two overlapping developments in the South Caucasus perfectly highlighted the military imbalance between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the fifth anniversary of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Azerbaijan publicly displayed its new Chinese-made HQ-9BE strategic air defense missile systems at a victory parade in Baku for the first time on Nov. 8. Days earlier, photos emerged indicating that Baku had acquired the system. The HQ-9BE could significantly reinforce Azerbaijan’s already formidable air defenses, which include the strategic Russian S-300 PMU-2 and advanced, medium-range Israeli Barak MX.
During the same parade, Azerbaijan showcased its JF-17C Block III fighter jets, which it acquired from Pakistan, for the first time. That acquisition marks a huge upgrade for its modest fighter fleet. Baku has ordered 40 of these advanced aircraft, which would dwarf the other two air forces in the South Caucasus and possibly even rival that of its southern neighbor, Iran.
