Walk past the outdoor displays at ADEX 2026 in Baku and you will find a Chinese fighter wearing Azerbaijani colours. China's state aerospace group AVIC has parked a full-scale mock-up of the Chengdu J-10CE at the Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition, painted in Azerbaijan Air Force markings and serial 27-001.

There is no order. Azerbaijan has not announced any plan to buy the J-10CE. But the display, at a show that opened on 30 September, is a very public sales pitch to a country that already flies a Chinese-Pakistani fighter, the JF-17 Thunder.

A Fighter Dressed for a Customer

Painting a mock-up in a prospective customer's markings is a classic airshow tactic. It lets visiting officials picture the jet on their own flight line, and it makes for photographs that travel. According to Defence Security Asia, AVIC showed both the outdoor full-scale model and a smaller indoor model, with the full-scale jet displayed alongside PL-15E long-range and PL-10E short-range air-to-air missiles and external fuel tanks.

The J-10CE is the export version of China's J-10C, a single-engine, delta-canard multirole fighter. According to Times of Defence, it is offered with a KLJ-7A AESA radar, an infrared search and track sensor, a helmet-mounted display and 11 hardpoints, and is powered by a single Chinese WS-10 turbofan.

Why Azerbaijan?

Azerbaijan is rebuilding its air force. In 2025 Pakistan confirmed the sale of up to 40 JF-17 Block III fighters to Baku in a deal reported at around $4.6 billion, and those jets are now in service. The JF-17 is a light fighter co-developed by Pakistan and China's AVIC, so the Azerbaijani Air Force is already used to Chinese-origin avionics and weapons.

For China, the J-10CE has been on a sales run. Pakistan was the first customer, and Uzbekistan confirmed its J-10CEs this summer. The type's reputation got a lift after Pakistan claimed J-10CE and PL-15E kills against Indian aircraft in May 2025, although independent verification of those claims remains limited.

Mock-Up or Message?

A painted mock-up is not a contract. Azerbaijan has a long history of shopping widely, from Russian and Israeli to Turkish and Pakistani suppliers, and Baku has said nothing about a J-10CE purchase. Still, AVIC does not paint a fighter in someone's colours by accident.

Found And Explained on how China's J-10 went from an overlooked design to a serious export fighter.

Sources: Defence Security Asia, Times of Defence, ORDU.AZ, Quwa