BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 29. The IV Aerospace Modeling Festival took place on 26 July 2026 at Fuzuli International Airport. It was the first time in Azerbaijan’s history that an aerospace modeling festival was held at an international airport. Two days later, on 28 July, the winners were honoured at the Innovations Center in Baku.
The festival was jointly organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Innovations Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Aviation Academy, and the "Support to the Development of New Technologies Public Union."
A new aerospace platform in Karabakh
Opened in 2021, Fuzuli International Airport is the first
international airport in the Karabakh region. Hosting the festival
there opened new opportunities for aerospace and technical
creativity in the region. Seeing aviation infrastructure serve the
work of young engineers gave the event a special symbolic
meaning.
Türkiye’s first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, attended as guest of
honour. His presence was an inspiring moment for the young
participants.
Strong interest from international universities
The festival attracted strong interest from universities abroad. Students from the following institutions took part actively with their own projects:
Imperial College London, United Kingdom;
Institut Polytechnique de Paris and Université Paris-Saclay,
France;
Erciyes University, Türkiye;
Turin Polytechnic University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan;
National Aerospace University “Kharkiv Aviation Institute”,
Ukraine.
International guests included a coordinator from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the First Vice-Rector of Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami, the Rector and First Vice-Rector of Kharkiv Aviation University, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Azerbaijan, and the Ukrainian military attaché.
12 competition categories, an air show and demonstrations
Now in its fourth edition, the festival was held in two stages.
Competitions ran in 12 categories: S-3-B Parachute, S-3-C
Parachute, S-4-D Rocket Glider, S-6-A Streamer, S-6-B Streamer,
S-6-C Streamer, Satellite Modeling (CubeSat), Aerospace Startup,
FPV Drone, Aircraft Modeling, Wireless Communication and Direction
Finding. Wireless Communication and Direction Finding joined the
programme for the first time in 2026.
The programme also featured an air show and demonstration flights
of quadcopter and aircraft models. Judges assessed flight altitude
and duration, landing accuracy, the models’ technical
characteristics and the realism of flight.
Winners honoured in Baku
The award ceremony took place on 28 July 2026 at the Innovations
Center in Baku. It was attended by Vusal Rustamov, Director of the
Innovations Center; Member of Parliament Sadiq Gurbanov; Ramil
Jabbarov, Adviser to the Minister of Youth and Sports; Nurali
Yusifbeyli, Rector of Sumgayit State University; Rufat Zamanov,
Chairman of the Republican Committee of the Trade Union of Oil and
Gas Industry Workers of Azerbaijan; the Rector and First
Vice-Rector of Kharkiv Aviation University; and representatives of
state institutions and partner organizations.
The ceremony opened with a minute of silence in memory of the
martyrs who gave their lives for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
and sovereignty, followed by the National Anthem. A video
presenting the festival’s highlights was then screened.
First, second and third place winners in all 12 categories received medals, trophies and diplomas. Active participants were awarded certificates.
Thanks to partners
Certificates of appreciation were presented to representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Innovations Center, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Fuzuli District Executive Authority, the State Support Agency for NGOs, the Main Customs Department for Air Transport, the Azerbaijan Air Force, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), AZAD Systems, ASAN Visa, ASAN TV, ASELSAN Baku, Hadaf Lyceum, IT Innovations Academy, AzST LLC and ORBITE LLC for their support in organizing the festival.
A launchpad for future engineers
The festival aims to advance rocket and satellite modeling in Azerbaijan, encourage innovative thinking among young people, promote a healthy lifestyle and make technical creativity accessible to all. Across its editions, the festival has received nearly 1,500 applications from different regions of the country.
The IV Aerospace Modeling Festival showed once again that Azerbaijan is building a broad platform for aerospace modeling, technical creativity and international cooperation.
