Ceremony for handover of first Bulgarian Air Force F-16 set for January 31
Bulgaria’s Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov is leaving on January 29 for a three-day visit to the United States, and will attend a ceremony marking the official handover of the first Bulgarian-produced F-16 Block 70 aircraft, which will be held on January 31, the ministry said.
The ceremony is to be held at the Lockheed Martin manufacturing facility in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Bulgarian delegation includes Deputy Defence Minister Adelina Nikolova, Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev, Air Force Commander Major General Dimitar Petrov, and Director of the Armaments Policy Directorate Colonel Vladislav Shekerov.
The ceremony in Greenville will be attended by the Bulgarian Ambassador to the US Georgi Panayotov and military attaché Colonel Ivan Bogdanov.
It is to be attended by Lockheed Martin management, representatives of the US House of Representatives and Senate, the US Department of Defence and the US Air Force, as well as local authorities in the state of South Carolina.
This is the first of a total of 16 new fighter jets that Bulgaria will receive in fulfillment of the two contracts signed in 2019 and 2022, respectively. The first two aircraft are expected to land on Bulgarian territory in April 2025.
Zapryanov will also meet with Bulgarian Air Force service personnel who are currently training there, as well as with representatives of the US Department of Defence and the US Air Force, who are overseeing the delivery of the aircraft, Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said.

(Photos via the website of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence)
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