8 hours ago<x0) Bulgaria, first US F-16, 7 others arrive by year's end
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)Bulgaria took over its first US-made F-16 fighter plane, commissioned as part of NATO member's historic efforts on the east wing Sunday to modernise its air force. To replace its MiG-29 aircraft, Bulgaria has ordered 16 American F-16 fighters for a cost [...]
To replace its MiG-29 aircraft, Bulgaria has ordered 16 American F-16 fighters for a cost of about 2.4 billion euros, in the largest contract to repair its armed forces since the fall of communism in 1989, writes a2cn.
At a ceremony marking the delivery of the plane to the Graf Ignatievo military base in central Bulgaria, Prime Minister Rossen Jelizkov said those present were celebrating the non-resistant and irreversible modernisation of the Bulgarian Army.
US defence official David Baker hailed the delivery of the plane as “a milestone“, followed Periscope.
Your investments today will improve Bulgaria's security for decades to come and allow you to contribute further to do so NATO's largest military alliance in history”, Baker added.
After the first surrender this Sunday, seven more F-16s will surrender by the end of 2025, while the other eight will arrive until 2027.
Bulgaria, which last year celebrated its 20th anniversary of its entry into NATO, has long delayed modernising its air forces for political and financial reasons.
But, as with other eastern members of the US-led defence coalition, Russia's invasion to Ukraine has forced a review of its defence stance.
Europe's poorest member now spends more than the basic level NATO, two per cent of national defence production, even though much remains below the current 5 per cent demanded by US President Donald Trump.
