Bulgarian Air Force MiGs in joint exercise with Romania, Canada
Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets from Graf Ignatievo Air Force Base are taking part in the joint exercise Blue Bridge 2019 along with the Romanian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Defence Ministry in Sofia said.
The flights are being carried out in Bulgarian and Romanian air space.
The main military air bases being used are Bulgaria’s Graf Ignatievo and the one at Romania’s Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport.
The training objectives of the joint Bulgarian-Romanian-Canadian exercise “Blue Bridge 2019” are to achieve better coordination and interoperability between the air forces of the countries, for joint actions in conducting cross-border operations, control of aviation, control and radar support for the combat use of military equipment and the formations for the protection and defence of the airspace of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Defence Ministry said.
The exercise has been held annually since 2012.
Bulgaria currently is spending about 150 million leva on overhauls of its ageing Soviet-made MiG-29s and Su-25s. The country has signed contracts with the United States for the delivery of eight Lockheed Martin-manufactured F-16 fighter jets, in a deal costing about two billion leva.
(Photo: Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence)
