Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry ‘exploring options for second-hand fighter jets’

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence is exploring options for second-hand fighter jets because of the delay in the second batch of F-16s for Bulgaria, the ministry was reported as saying on July 28 by Bulgarian National Television (BNT).

The Defence Ministry was responding to Poland’s Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz having told Wirtualna Polska on July 27 that Bulgaria intends to buy the MiG-29 aircraft that Warsaw has been negotiating to transfer to Ukraine.

Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said that it was analysing various options for maintaining the defence capabilities of the Air Force until the F-16 Block 70 aircraft reach full operational readiness.

The delay in the delivery of the second eight aircraft necessitates the adoption of measures to guarantee the capabilities of the Bulgarian Air Force to perform airspace security tasks, the ministry said.

Various options are being studied to ensure the continuous implementation of the Nato Air Policing mission, it said.

In this context, the ministry has sent inquiries to several countries for available aircraft and spare parts, including Poland and Hungary.

In parallel, opportunities for acquiring used F-16 and JAS-39 Gripen are being explored, for which inquiries have also been sent, the Defence Ministry said.

The ministry said that it was currently awaiting responses to the inquiries. Negotiations with the relevant countries have not begun and no decision has been made to acquire a specific type of aviation equipment, the ministry told BNT.

As The Sofia Globe reported earlier, the Bulgarian government’s logic in looking to buy MiG-29s is like the last owner of a Moskvich going around scrap yards looking for spare parts, Ivailo Mirchev, an MP for opposition Democratic Bulgaria, said.

Mirchev’s criticism follows former defence minister Todor Tagarev saying on July 27 that instead of introducing its brand-new F-16s and using its limited resources to invest in anti-drone defence systems, Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry continues to look at aging equipment.

Bulgaria has taken delivery of eight US-made F-16s and is to receive eight more, but the Bulgarian Air Force continues to use the MiG-29 for air policing, and says that the F-16s will come into active service only in 2028.

(Archive photos: A Gripen and an F-16)