site.btaAmendment to Air-to-Air Missiles Material, Services Agreement Ratified

Bulgaria's Parliament on Thursday ratified, within a single sitting on two readings, a Bill to Ratify Amendment 2 to Letter of Offer and Acceptance BU-P-AAD (Sidewinder AIM 9X Block II Missiles, associated material and services) (LOA BU-P-AAD A2).

The 132 votes in favour came from GERB-UDF, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, MRF - New Beginning, BSP - United Left, There Is Such a People, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, and one independent MP. Vazrazhdane voted against, and MECh abstained.

The LOA will not be gazetted.

By LOA BU-P-AAD, signed by the Minister of Defence on July 11, 2019 and ratified by a law passed by the 44th National Assembly on July 26, 2019, Bulgaria contracted the acquisition from Lockheed Martin Corp. of Sidewinder AIM 9X Block II Missiles and associated material and services at a price of USD 20,437,635, to be provided under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.

Owing to Bulgaria's status at the time of signature (no history of acquisition of defence products and services under FMS on national funding), 100% of the price due under the LOA was paid up front after the promulgation of the ratifying law. Amendment 2 to LOA BU-P-AAD was proposed and drafted under US legislation, complying with the same standard terms as the already effective Letters of Agreement on acquisition of F-16 Block 70 jet fighters, and is necessitated by the following intervening administrative, time and technical changes affecting the performance of the core agreement: an adjusted timeframe for the delivery of the missiles and the containers for them owing to delayed contracting by the US side; an insertion of explanatory texts regarding storage and reporting; a changed origin of delivery of the containers and documentation (delivery of newly manufactured containers or such from the stocks of the US Air Force).  

An additional Note 34 explains that AIM-9X Block II, being an infrared homing air-to-air missile, has a ground-target kill capability but is not intended for use against ground targets and cannot be reliable in an air-to-surface scenario.

LOA BU-P-AAD A2 does not alter the price paid by Bulgaria under the LOA BU-D-SAB signed in 2019 but makes it possible for the US to optimize deliveries in connection with the performance of the agreement on acquisition of air-to-air guided missiles.

The Pre-ratification Debate

Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov: The ratification modifies timeframes but does not change any financial parameters under the LOA.

Dimcho Dimchev MP of Vazrazhdane: We at Vazrazhdane do not oppose the acquisition of materiel or armaments for the Bulgarian military, as long as it is available to our armed forces, but we oppose the way these agreements are signed. We are at the mercy of the US. We are called that the missiles will be delayed, just as the F-16 aircraft were delayed.

Hristo Gadzhev MP of GERB-UDF, Chair of the National Assembly Defence Committee: The debate should be informed, i.e. those who criticize the LOA should have first read it. The missiles are delayed until the last quarter of 2025, which means that they will arrived before the end of this year. The unit price is USD 536,000, and it remains unchanged.