Is Azerbaijan buying new air defence systems? From this country

Russia wants to sell Pantsir-S1 air defence systems to Azerbaijan.

TodayPress TV  reports, citing TASS, that Dmitry Shugaev, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, has expressed hope that Moscow and Baku will reach an agreement on the sale of Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and gun systems.

In an interview with Russia’s Zvezda television channel on November 1, Shugaev said there was strong demand for the system from foreign countries. However, he did not disclose how many systems Azerbaijan might seek to purchase, the potential value of a deal or whether formal negotiations between the two sides were under way.

Azerbaijani officials have not yet commented on the matter.

Shugaev also announced that Russia and Azerbaijan had signed a programme providing for the construction and modernisation of facilities to repair Russian-made armoured vehicles. Azerbaijan’s military inventory includes Russian-supplied T-90S tanks, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and BTR-80A armoured personnel carriers.

The Pantsir-S1 is a short-range air defence system equipped with missiles and two 30 mm cannons. It is designed to destroy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Military cooperation between Baku and Moscow has once again come under scrutiny following tensions in bilateral relations. On December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger aircraft was struck as a result of the operation of a Russian air defence system, killing 38 people. Following the incident, Azerbaijan called on Russia to accept responsibility and pay compensation.

In October 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that a malfunction in the air defence system was one of the causes of the crash and said compensation would be paid. In April 2026, the foreign ministries of the two countries announced that issues related to the crash, including compensation, had been resolved.

Meanwhile, losses of Pantsir-S1 systems in the war in Ukraine have also drawn attention. According to figures compiled by the Oryx project based on photographic and video evidence, Russia has lost at least 54 such systems since February 2022. Of these, 53 were Pantsir-S1 systems and one was the upgraded Pantsir-S1M model.

Jala Rovshan