Pakistan’s Rise as a Regional Aerospace Power: A Strategic Overview

The global defence-industrial landscape is undergoing an evident structural realignment, marked by the gradual decline of the traditional Western and Russian monopolies over advanced aerial platforms. Within this evolving environment, Pakistan’s transition from a peripheral arms exporter to an emerging aerospace producer showcases a growing technological shift towards self-sufficiency. This transformation is neither speculative nor aspirational; rather, it is grounded in operational validation, along with a recalibrated strategy of defence-led geo-economic statecraft. The conflict with India in May 2025, acted as the catalyst for this shift.  Despite various political opinions, the war was a high intensity, cross-border conflict which challenged the effectiveness of the indigenous and jointly produced military platforms of India and Pakistan. Combat-proven status in defence markets is also a primary indicator of credibility. Pakistan Air Force, through the episode of May 2025, demonstrated the combat-tested capabilities of its weapon systems. In early 2026, the number of foreign interests and Pakistani aircraft acquisition talks grew in regions such as, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia who had been historically underserved by the West.

Furthermore, Pakistan has made the JF-17 Thunder Block III the focal point of its air force modernization. Developed by PAC and CAC, the Block III aircraft features an AESA radar, advanced electronic-warfare systems and network centric combat capabilities. The step demonstrates the increasing capability that Pakistan has gained in aerospace design and integration. In May, 2025, the JF-17 is alleged to have decimated India’s Russian‑made S‑400, demonstrating to the world its operational maturity. JF-17 has an advantage in the market because of its performance, as well as its cost-performance ratio. It has a unit price of approximately USD 25-30 million and provides lethal accuracy, multi-sensor integration and advanced combat systems that places the JF-17 on par with Western fighters valued at USD 70–90 million. Countries such as Iraq, Azerbaijan and, perhaps, Saudi Arabia consider the JF -17 a cost-effective air power solution. The security threats to these countries differ, but the common factor is that of countries with budgetary constraints and their strategic preference to avoid dependence on the US or Russia, enabling cost-effective defence capabilities without the operational restrictions imposed by Western manufacturers. In this context, the JF‑17 offers the world a cost-effective, modern, and combat-proven fighter jet that combines operational flexibility with affordability.

Pakistan is also allocating resources to invest in low-cost and indigenous UAVs hoping to produce affordable aerial platforms in ISR and precision strikes. Increased production of reconnaissance platforms and loitering munitions have been seen in the private Sysverve Aerospace firm in Rawalpindi (a private sector company). They currently manufacture several hundred units annually, serving both the domestic market and sending their products to the Global South, which is in search of low-cost counter-insurgency and border-surveillance products.

One of the main challenges of the expanding arms export industry in Pakistan is industrial scalability. Present output of approximately 20 JF-17 jets annually is insufficient to satisfy the long term export requirements and supplement modernization timelines in the Pakistan Air Force. PAC Kamra is planning to significantly expand JF‑17 production. China has a crucial part to play, as it supplies avionics, engines and subsystem integration. Such assistance works towards counteracting the bottlenecks and safeguarding the Pakistani production against political contingencies and bureaucracy in the Western defence regimes. Pakistan offers customized packages for hardware sales, including comprehensive export package, which includes training of pilots, maintenance, joint training, and long-term advisory services. This holistic solution appeals to developing states that lack the institutional capacity to independently integrate advanced technology. It also enhances the entrenchment of long term security relationships making arms sales a strategic bargaining tool and not a mere sale.

The growing export of Pakistan’s defence equipment, when viewed through a geopolitical lens, can be understood as a form of geo-economic diplomacy. Islamabad, by providing options to the existing suppliers, allows recipient states to diversify their strategic options and strengthen their integration into regional security frameworks. Finally, the recent developments in the defence sector of Pakistan can be interpreted as the entry into the multipolar global arms market, in which brand loyalty does not have the same significance as operational effectiveness, affordability, and political adaptability. The announced USD 13 billion export pipeline is an ambitious undertaking, reflecting how Pakistan is channelling its military capabilities into expanding industrial capacity. Through such initiatives, Pakistan is positioned to increase its aerospace production, securing significant economic gains and influencing the evolution of airpower in the region over the next decades.