Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan is nearing a $1. 5 billion agreement to supply Sudan’s armed forces with fighter jets and arms, according to local reports, marking a notable step in the country’s push to widen its defence-export footprint across the Arab world. Official statements indicate the proposed package centres on the JF-17 Thunder, a multi-role combat aircraft built jointly by Pakistan’s state-owned Aeronautical Complex and China’s Chengdu Aircraft Corporation.
The Block — 3 variant of the jet carries an AESA radar, beyond-visual-range missiles and electronic-warfare systems, and is priced at roughly $25 million per unit, sources close to the matter.
The deal, if concluded, would insert Pakistani hardware into Sudan’s two-year war between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Regional officials confirmed that Saudi Arabia, which supports Sudan’s army, has also expressed interest in the same platform after signing a mutual-defence treaty with Islamabad last September.
Iraq’s defence authorities have made similar enquiries, the military’s media wing announced in December.
Independent observers say the outreach reflects a broader effort by Islamabad to convert battle experience — gained during a brief air clash with India last May—into export revenue at a time when the country is in the middle of a 37-month, $7 billion IMF lending programme.
A Karachi brokerage report estimates that confirmed and prospective JF — 17 sales to Azerbaijan, Sudan, Libya and Saudi Arabia could generate up to $13 billion over the next several years, though analysts caution that past marketing campaigns have rarely translated into large firm orders.
The government stated in a communiqué that annual defence-industry exports, including tanks, drones and small arms, jumped from $13 million in fiscal 2022 to more than $400 million in 2023; officials have not yet commented on the specific Sudan contract timeline or delivery schedule. Further details are expected once parliamentary clearance is obtained, but it remains unclear how Pakistan will balance competing regional loyalties should the same aircraft be requested by rival actors in Libya or Yemen.
