Islamabad, February 22 Somalia is negotiating with Pakistan to purchase up to 24 JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jets, a media report said here on Sunday.
The discussions gained momentum following a visit to Islamabad by Somali Air Force Commander Mohamud Sheikh Ali earlier in the month, The News reported, citing foreign media.
The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine, lightweight combat jet developed jointly by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) of China and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).
While Pakistan claims that the jet has proven its capabilities during the conflict with India last year, its effectiveness is not clearly known.
Pakistan had extensively used Chinese-origin Chengdu J-10 fighter jets during the May 7-10 conflict with India, according to experts and military officials.
On Sunday, The News quoted a Somali defense ministry official as saying, "Our airspace must be protected by Somali hands," portraying the acquisition not merely as a weapons procurement effort but as a statement of political sovereignty and institutional resurgence.
If the agreement materializes, the $900 million (approximately PKR 251 billion) deal would represent Somalia's largest defense investment since the Cold War era, it said.
This is not the first time that Pakistan has claimed that its jets have many takers. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on January 14 claimed that several countries were in talks with Pakistan to acquire its fighter jets following last year's conflict with India.
Before that, the army said on January 13 that Pakistan and Indonesia discussed defense cooperation amidst reports about Jakarta joining the list of nations interested in buying JF-17 Thunder jets, while on January 10, it said that Iraq expressed "keen interest" in JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and Mushshak training aircraft.
This development came days after Pakistan and Bangladesh air chiefs held talks on "potential procurement" of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets by Dhaka, a development not yet confirmed by Bangladesh.