Turkey And Israel Upgrade Azerbaijan’s Russian Military Hardware

Azerbaijan recently publicly presented Russian military hardware upgraded by Israeli and Turkish military technology companies at a defense fair in Baku in September 2024. The upgrades indicate that Azerbaijan wants to keep its older equipment in service and up-to-date, even as it modernizes its armed forces with new advanced drones, also from Israel and Turkey, and modern JF-17C Block III multirole fighter jets from Pakistan.

At the September 24-26 Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2024, Baku showcased its upgraded Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft and T-72 main battle tanks. Other older upgraded Soviet-era weaponry displayed at the event included ZSU-23-4 Shilka anti-aircraft guns and 9K33 Osa short-range surface-to-air missile systems. These designs date back to the late 1950s and 1960s.

Azerbaijan did not inherit all its Su-25s from Moscow after it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Baku bought its subsonic Frogfoots in separate deals with Georgia and Belarus, receiving them in 2002 and 2012, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfers database.

Baku also ordered its MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets from Russia in the 2000s, the only fourth-generation fighter it operated until the recent purchase of an unspecified number of JF-17Cs, the first of which also arrived in September 2024.

Turkish Aerospace Industries, also known by its Turkish acronym TUSAS, upgraded the Su-25s. With these new upgrades, the Azerbaijani Frogfoots can launch several Turkish-made guided and glide bombs and even cruise missiles, giving the close air support plane a standoff strike capability. The aircraft’s avionics also received a comprehensive upgrade.

Azerbaijan’s upgraded T-72s were also presented at ADEX 2024. Azerbaijan built its sizable fleet of these Soviet-era main battle tanks through imports from Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Slovakia in the 2000s, according to the SIPRI database. By 2010, Azerbaijan had an estimated 180 T-72s, with one-third purchased in 2009 alone.

Azerbaijan also ordered a fleet of newer T-90S tanks from Russia in the 2010s. Upgrading its T-72s indicates it also wants to keep these older tanks in service for the foreseeable future.

Israel’s Elbit Systems, which specializes in modernizing Soviet-era hardware and other older armor and aircraft, performed the upgrades. According to the official ADEX website, the modernization incorporated recent lessons from the deadly Ukraine war.

“The tanks have been equipped with anti-cumulative screens and a protective lattice structure designed to shield the vehicle’s upper parts from drone strikes and explosives,” the site noted. Other upgrades include the incorporation of modern Israeli-built fire control and sighting systems and enhanced reactive armor.

Elbit was previously chosen over Turkey’s Aselsan defense corporation to upgrade Azerbaijani T-72s in the 2010s. Baku’s use of Turkish and Israeli defense firms makes sense, given its strategic ties with both countries.

Incidentally, the CEO of Turkey’s Baykar Defense—manufacturer of the popular Bayraktar TB2 drone of which Azerbaijan is an operator—recently deflected criticism for co-sponsoring this year’s ADEX fair alongside Israel Aerospace Industries. The criticism comes as Turkey’s leadership has repeatedly denounced Israel for its ongoing military campaigns in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Azerbaijan’s choice of Turkey over Israel for the Su-25 upgrade was also interesting, considering Israel’s experience upgrading Su-25s, as Elbit did with Georgia’s Su-25 fleet. It may well have preferred to have its Frogfoots compatible with Turkey’s indigenous munitions, as that would increase interoperability with the Turkish military, a shared political goal of Ankara and Baku.

The Azerbaijani military’s use of modern Israeli and Turkish drones—most notably the Turkish TB2 and Israeli Harop loitering munition—played a pivotal role in its decisive victory in the 2020 war with Armenia. Nevertheless, these upgrades may indicate that Baku sees value in maintaining its quantitative arsenal of older hardware and improving its overall quality.

It’s also plausible that Azerbaijan wants to maintain a qualitative and quantitive edge over Armenia. While the incumbent Armenian government is pushing for an extensive peace deal with Baku, it’s also rebuilding its armed forces, doubtlessly incorporating lessons from its 2020 rout, with an eye on significantly reducing its overwhelming historical dependency on Russia for military hardware.

As part of this process, Yerevan has purchased rocket systems, air defenses from India, and artillery from France. Baku has denounced these purchases, arguably hypocritically considering it also continues acquiring advanced weaponry.

Most recently, Armenia has reportedly been considering an acquisition of South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks, which would mark a massive upgrade of its existing armor, severely battered in the 2020 war.

Armenia is also seeking help from India to upgrade its four Russian Su-30SM Flankers, the only fighter jets in its entire air force.