Bulgaria has officially received its first F-16 fighter jet

Bulgaria received its first F-16 Block 70 aircraft at the Lockheed Martin production facility in Greenville, USA, as announced by the Council of Ministers on January 31.

Defence Minister, Atanas Zapryanov, attended the ceremony marking the official handover at the production base. This is the first of 16 aircraft that Bulgaria has purchased.

The acquisition of the F-16 is part of the largest and most expensive modernisation project for the Bulgarian Air Force.

The aircraft was officially handed over to Bulgaria in the presence of Lockheed Martin's leadership, representatives from the U.S. Congress and Senate, as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Defence and the U.S. Air Force, and local authorities from the state of South Carolina.

"With this, our strategic partnership with the United States in the field of defence continues its upward development, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov stressed. With the acquisition of the multirole F-16 Block 70 fighters, capable of performing a wide range of tasks, our air force will build new capabilities that will enable the Bulgarian Air Force to achieve full operational compatibility with NATO and EU allies."