Two additional Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 fighter jets landed at the Third Air Base – Graf Ignatievo, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. The aircrafts arrived under the 2019 contract with the United States.
The fighter jets were met by Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov, Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev, acting Third Air Base Commander Colonel Metodi Orlov, representatives of the United States mission in Bulgaria, and the air base personnel.
Delivery is proceeding according to the agreement with the US Government. The first four jets have been received, the next two have arrived, and the final two are scheduled for delivery by the end of the year, Zapryanov said. He added that as 2026 approaches, Bulgaria will have fully completed the contract with the United States, allowing for the technological commissioning and test flights of the newly delivered jets.
The Ministry of Defence also noted that additional equipment and supplies are still being delivered under the contract. Zapryanov emphasized that every effort is being made to ensure full training facilities for pilots at the Third Air Base – Graf Ignatievo. He recalled that, at the start of his term, only one out of 49 infrastructure projects at the air base had been completed and accepted.
“Now we have 17 new projects completed in 2024 and 2025, and another 17 in the process of being accepted. Importantly, we have significantly accelerated the construction of the building for the installation of the flight simulator, as having a simulator is just as vital as acquiring the aircraft themselves for the training of our pilots,” Zapryanov said.
The two new Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 jets are single-seat combat aircraft. They arrived in Bulgaria still bearing United States Air Force insignia and will now undergo technical and flight acceptance procedures. By the end of 2025, Bulgaria is set to receive all eight jets under the International Agreement “BU-D-SAB,” with six already on Bulgarian soil. Upon completion of the second contract, the Bulgarian Air Force will field a full squadron of 16 F-16s.The F-16 fighters will assume combat duty once pilot training is finished and all terms of the 2019 contract have been met, Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev said in an interview marking October 16, Aviation and Air Force Day.
Bulgaria currently has six pilots cleared to fly the F-16. Of these, only two are fully trained on Bulgaria’s specific F-16 variant. The other four, who trained in the United States on earlier F-16 models, must log several flights on the Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 before they can operate the fighter solo, Major General Rusev explained. Two More F-16 Block 70 Jets Land in Bulgaria as Part of 2019 Deal THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-18 18:10:42 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
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