Bulgarian Air Force receives two more F-16s, bringing total delivered to eight
Two F-16 fighter jets manufactured for the Bulgarian Air Force were delivered to the Graf Ignatievo air base near Plovdiv on December 16, meaning that the country has now received all eight it is acquiring in fulfilment of a 2019 contract.
Under a second contract, the Bulgarian Air Force is to receive a further eight F-16 fighter jets. Current plans are for the delivery of this further eight, to constitute a second squadron, to happen by the end of 2027.
Together, the acquisition of the 16 F-16s is costing Bulgaria about five billion leva, with the Lockheed Martin-manufactured aircraft eventually to succeed the country’s ageing Soviet-era MiG-29s, which are massively costly and difficult to maintain.
The two F-16s that arrived on the night of December 16 were welcomed by Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov and Defence Chief Admiral Emil Eftimov, as well as other officials, according to a statement by Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry.
The Defence Ministry statement came a day after Lockheed Martin said that production of all the F-16s under the country’s initial contract had been completed.
The first of the F-16s that Bulgaria is acquiring arrived in the country on April 2 2025, the second on June 8 and two new F-16 fighter jets arrived in Bulgaria on October 3. This was followed by two more on October 18.
Two of the F-16s delivered to Bulgaria earlier in 2025 were reported to have technical problems, but current public information about their status has been scant.
(Photos: Ministry of Defence)
