site.btaDefence Minister on USAF Tanker Aircraft at Sofia Airport

Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said here on Wednesday that four of the USAF deployed at Sofia Airport have left and will be back after June 12. They will remain in Bulgarian territory until June 30. 

At a meeting of the parliamentary Defence Committee, Stoyanov answered a question from Vazrazhdane MP Ivelin Parvanov about the number of military transport and tanker aircraft left in the country's territory. 

"Initially, there were 15 aircraft, the number subsequently dropped to 14, and they now total ten," the Defence Minister answered. 

He explained that the aircraft had left Bulgaria at his request owing to the need to provide parking positions for aircraft bringing participants in the SEECP Summit at the invitation of Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova.

Before the Defence Committee meeting, asked by reporters whether the USAF aircraft at Sofia Airport were indeed deployed for an exercise, Stoyanov commented that the note served by the US extended an earlier note that said that the aircraft would be used for training missions. "In my personal opinion, the US aircraft at the airport are for logistical support of US armed forces' operations," he pointed out.

"I don't see any reason for tensions between the US and Bulgaria. There are no differences between the previous and the present Council of Ministers decisions. It extends a decision adopted in March," the Defence Minister commented.

He was referring to a decision made by the Andrey Gurov caretaker Cabinet in response to a US Embassy request for permission for the deployment of up to 15 aircraft at the Vasil Levski Sofia Airport from February 17 to May 31, 2026, as well as for assistance in ensuring access for military personnel to the airport runway. The reasons given were related to the implementation of NATO enhanced vigilance activities. That permission was extended until June 30 by the incumbent Government, after Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on May 20 that in a telephone call with US President Donald Trump he had raised the issue of waiving US visas for Bulgaria in the context of the continued stationing of the US tanker aircraft at Sofia Airport.