By Bosphorus News Defense Desk
Azerbaijan will receive 14 HÜRKUŞ-II trainer aircraft from Türkiye under defense deals worth more than $500 million signed at the ADEX 2026 exhibition in Baku. The agreements also cover loitering munitions, electronic systems, coastal defense and radar procurement.
The $500 million figure applies to the wider group of agreements, not to the HÜRKUŞ-II contract alone. Türkiye's Defense Industries President Haluk Görgün said the deals include HÜRKUŞ procurement from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), MIZRAK smart loitering munitions and Antidot systems from Baykar, the Barbaros Coastal Defense System from Roketsan and an ASELSAN memorandum covering ALP-100 radars.
Görgün said all 14 HÜRKUŞ-II aircraft would go to Azerbaijan, with deliveries beginning during 2026 alongside those to the Turkish Air Force.
Azerbaijan Becomes HÜRKUŞ-II Export Customer
The Azerbaijan contract comes shortly after the aircraft completed military type certification.
TUSAŞ said the certification program verified 1,790 requirements across 12 disciplines, reviewed 950 technical evidence documents and completed 153 tests. The company described it as the first military type certification completed in Türkiye for a domestically developed aircraft through national engineering resources and in line with international standards.
Görgün said certification was completed on September 9 and the first two HÜRKUŞ-II aircraft were delivered to the Turkish Air Force on September 28. He said Türkiye plans to deliver 55 HÜRKUŞ aircraft to the Turkish Air Force by the end of 2028, while the Azerbaijan contract covers another 14 HÜRKUŞ-II aircraft.
Türkiye's Defense Ministry had earlier confirmed HÜRKUŞ-II acceptance activities at TUSAŞ's Kahramankazan facilities on September 28.
The turboprop aircraft was developed for pilot instruction and advanced training. Azerbaijan's order puts the platform into an export market as it enters operational service in Türkiye.
Deals Extend Beyond Aviation
The Baku agreements extend well beyond trainer aircraft.
Baykar's MIZRAK smart loitering munition and Antidot systems add unmanned and electronic capabilities. Roketsan's Barbaros system covers coastal defense, while the ASELSAN memorandum concerns ALP-100 radar procurement.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry separately confirmed that Defense Minister Col. Gen. Zakir Hasanov met Görgün at ADEX on September 30 and that cooperation agreements were signed with Turkish defense companies. The Azerbaijani delegation also visited the ASELSAN, Baykar, Roketsan and TUSAŞ stands.
The ministry said Hasanov and Görgün reviewed current and future joint defense projects and described military and military-technical cooperation with Türkiye as part of the two countries' strategic alliance.
Separate Agreements Cover Production, Research and Logistics
Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Ministry announced another seven cooperation documents at ADEX 2026. Separate from the procurement agreements valued above $500 million, they cover production, research, education and logistics.
The documents include academic cooperation in defense-industry education and research, cooperation between Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Research and Innovation Center and Türkiye's Defense Industry Academy, and a preliminary agreement for an ASELSAN facility in Nakhchivan.
Other agreements cover radio-frequency-based systems with Boğaziçi Savunma, cooperation with Kayı Savunma, strategic cooperation between Azerbaijan's MİRAS Military-Industrial Company and Türkiye's Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), and a logistics support agreement between MİRAS and Otokar.
The HÜRKUŞ-II order is part of a larger set of agreements spanning aircraft, unmanned systems, coastal defense, radar, industrial capacity and technical cooperation.
Sources: Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Ministry, Turkish Aerospace Industries, Türkiye's Presidency of Defense Industries, Türkiye's Defense Ministry, Anadolu Agency, Bosphorus News review and reporting.