Defence Minister: Bulgaria’s second F-16 will arrive at end of April or early May
The Bulgarian Air Force’s second F-16 multi-role fighter jet will arrive in the country at the end of April or in early May, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov told public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television’s weekly Panorama programme.
The Bulgarian Air Force’s first F-16 Block 70 multi-role fighter jet arrived at Graf Ignatievo air base near the city of Plovdiv on April 2, with an official ceremony planned for April 12.
Zapranov told Panorama: “The arrival of the F-16 is a new stage in the modernization and development of our Air Force.
“Over the past few years, the problems with combat aviation have been known publicly. Now we have a new platform, using the latest technology, and this provides a fundamental change in our capabilities.
“We are not talking about a fighter jet, but about the first multi-purpose Bulgarian combat aircraft,” he said.
The runway where the aircraft will land has been renovated.
Work is also continuing on some military sites, which will be completed by the end of the year, Zapryanov said.
The only site that is behind schedule is the building in which the simulator for training pilots is to be installed. Zapryanov said that he has called on the contractor to speed up the implementation process.
Zapryanov said that four projects for the modernization of Bulgaria’s military are currently underway – one the F-16 aircraft, the second, the construction of new naval vessels, the third, the Stryker armoured vehicles, which will be assembled at Bulgaria’s Terem plant.
The latest contract is for the IRIS-T anti-missile system, which will be purchased and delivered from Germany.
Negotiations are also underway with France for the supply of three coordinate radars.
“If this project is also implemented, the Air Force will be the first type of armed forces to be completely modernised,” Zapryanov said.
By the end of 2025, Bulgaria will receive all eight F-16s that Lockheed Martin is producing under the first contract signed by the governments of Bulgaria and the United States in 2019.
The second contract, signed in 2022 for the acquisition of a further eight F-16 Block 70 aircraft, is scheduled to be implemented by the end of 2027.
(Photo: Bulgarian government information service)
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