site.btaTwo New F-16 Block 70 Aircraft Arrive in Bulgaria

Two new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets arrived in Bulgaria on Friday under a 2019 contract with the US, the Defence Ministry said. The aircraft landed at the Third Air Base in Graf Ignatievo near Plovdiv, where they were welcomed by Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov, Bulgarian Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev, acting commander of the Third Air Base Colonel Metodi Orlov, representatives of the US Embassy in Sofia, and base personnel.

Eftimov thanked the Air Force command and the Third Air Base for their dedication and responsibility in the acceptance and integration of the new combat aircraft into the Bulgarian Armed Forces. “Our goal is to have eight F-16 Block 70 aircraft by the end of 2025,” he said, noting that several flights had already been carried out with the first two aircraft, with Bulgarian technicians working alongside US Air Force personnel and Lockheed Martin representatives.

One of the newly delivered aircraft is a single-seat combat jet, and the other is a two-seat trainer. As with the previous deliveries, the aircraft were flown by US pilots and arrived bearing US Air Force markings. They will undergo technical and flight acceptance procedures by Bulgarian specialists at Graf Ignatievo.

Bulgaria received its first two F-16s in April and June. Under the 2019 agreement, Bulgaria is set to receive a total of eight jets by year’s end. A second batch of eight fighters is expected by the end of 2027, forming a full squadron for the Bulgarian Air Force.

In late September, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov reported that a fuel leak had been detected in one of the internal tanks of an F-16D Block 70 two-seater. A Lockheed Martin representative is due to address the defect. The Minister noted that only two F-16 Block 70 aircraft had been delivered at that point, and they were not yet performing air policing duties.