site.btaSecond F-16 Block 70 Fighter Jet Arrives in Bulgaria

The second Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 fighter jet for the Bulgarian Air Force arrived in Bulgaria on Sunday, June 8, the Defence Ministry said in a press release on Sunday.

The aircraft landed at 3.26 p.m. at the Graf Ignatievo Third Air Base and was welcomed by Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov, Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev, and Colonel Metodi Orlov, Commander of the Third Air Base. The second F-16 Block 70 is a combat (single-seat) aircraft with tail number 313. Technical and flight acceptance procedures are now underway, the press release further said.

"The process of integrating the new F-16 Block 70 platform into our Air Force and the Bulgarian Army continues successfully. Welcome to our second new combat aircraft, which arrived today at the Third Air Base. We are proceeding with the reception and operational integration of the new jets. The goal remains unchanged – to receive all eight F-16s under the first contract by the end of this year. We are working hard to achieve initial operational capability within the scheduled timeframe," said Admiral Emil Eftimov, Chief of Defence.

In April, the first Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 arrived – a trainer version. Under the 2019 agreement, a total of eight F-16s are expected to be delivered by the end of 2025. By the end of 2027, the Bulgarian Air Force will operate a full squadron of 16 F-16 Block 70 jets, with another eight to be delivered under the second contract.

At end-May, the Defence Ministry said that the technical acceptance procedure for the first F-16 Block 70 aircraft, bearing tail number 301, had been completed. The flight acceptance process is currently underway.