diff --git a/hack/aks/Makefile b/hack/aks/Makefile
index 5c3306af95..4aae6f5783 100644
--- a/hack/aks/Makefile
+++ b/hack/aks/Makefile
@@ -8,13 +8,15 @@ AZIMG   = mcr.microsoft.com/azure-cli
 AZCLI   ?= docker run --rm -v $(AZCFG):/root/.azure -v $(KUBECFG):/root/.kube -v $(SSH):/root/.ssh -v $(PWD):/root/tmpsrc $(AZIMG) az
 
 # overrideable defaults
-REGION          ?= westus2
+AUTOUPGRADE     ?= patch
+K8S_VER         ?= 1.27 # Used only for ubuntu 18 as K8S 1.24.9, as K8S > 1.25 have Ubuntu 22
+NODE_COUNT      ?= 2
+NODEUPGRADE     ?= NodeImage
 OS_SKU          ?= Ubuntu
-WINDOWS_OS_SKU  ?= Windows2022
+OS_SKU_WIN      ?= Windows2022
+REGION          ?= westus2
 VM_SIZE	        ?= Standard_B2s
-NODE_COUNT      ?= 2
-K8S_VER         ?= 1.27 # Designated for Long Term Support, July 2025 | Only Ubuntu 22.04 is supported
-WINDOWS_VM_SKU  ?= Standard_B2s
+VM_SIZE_WIN     ?= Standard_B2s
 
 # overrideable variables
 SUB        ?= $(AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION)
@@ -88,6 +90,8 @@ up: swift-up ## Alias to swift-up
 
 overlay-byocni-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay BYO CNI cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -101,6 +105,8 @@ overlay-byocni-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay BYO CNI cluster
 
 overlay-cilium-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay Cilium cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -115,6 +121,8 @@ overlay-cilium-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay Cilium cluster
 
 overlay-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay AzCNI cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -128,6 +136,8 @@ overlay-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay AzCNI cluster
 
 swift-byocni-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT BYO CNI cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -142,6 +152,8 @@ swift-byocni-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT BYO CNI cluster
 
 swift-cilium-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT Cilium cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -156,6 +168,8 @@ swift-cilium-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT Cilium cluster
 
 swift-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT AzCNI cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -168,6 +182,8 @@ swift-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT AzCNI cluster
 
 cilium-overlay-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay BYO CNI cluster without kube-proxy for Cilium
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -182,6 +198,8 @@ cilium-overlay-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Brings up an Overlay BYO CNI cluster
 
 cilium-podsubnet-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT BYO CNI cluster without kube-proxy for Cilium
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--load-balancer-sku basic \
@@ -196,6 +214,8 @@ cilium-podsubnet-up: rg-up swift-net-up ## Bring up a SWIFT BYO CNI cluster with
 
 windows-cniv1-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Bring up a Windows CNIv1 cluster
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--network-plugin azure \
@@ -207,16 +227,18 @@ windows-cniv1-up: rg-up overlay-net-up ## Bring up a Windows CNIv1 cluster
 
 	$(AZCLI) aks nodepool add --resource-group $(GROUP) --cluster-name $(CLUSTER) \
 		--os-type Windows \
-		--os-sku $(WINDOWS_OS_SKU) \
+		--os-sku $(OS_SKU_WIN) \
 		--max-pods 250 \
 		--name npwin \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
-		-s $(WINDOWS_VM_SKU)
+		-s $(VM_SIZE_WIN)
 
 	@$(MAKE) set-kubeconf
 
 linux-cniv1-up: rg-up overlay-net-up
 	$(AZCLI) aks create -n $(CLUSTER) -g $(GROUP) -l $(REGION) \
+		--auto-upgrade-channel $(AUTOUPGRADE) \
+		--node-os-upgrade-channel $(NODEUPGRADE) \
 		--node-count $(NODE_COUNT) \
 		--node-vm-size $(VM_SIZE) \
 		--max-pods 250 \