Bulgaria to buy eight more F-16 fighter aircrafts

MPs decided Bulgaria to buy eight more F-16 aircraft. The investment project, submitted by the caretaker government, envisages Bulgaria to sign a contract with the US for eight more aircraft for 2.6 billion BGN in installments over a period of 10 years.

Washington has already sent an offer, which will be valid until December 15. GERB-UDF, MRF, "Democratic Bulgaria", "We Continue the Change" and "Bulgaria Ascending" supported the decision, while BSP and "Vazrazhdane" were against.

Three years after Bulgaria signed a contract with the US for eight F-16 fighter jets for BGN 2.2 billion, we are about to sign a second one for BGN 2.6 billion. Because of the delay in the delivery of the first eight, BSP said that the country will again buy aircraft only on blueprints.

"There is some coincidence today. We are discussing the paper ballot and aircraft on paper which have not yet arrived and we don't know when they will come. When there are no new aircraft and the old aircraft are grounded - MiG and Su, in fact, only ravens will fly over the skies of Bulgaria," said Rumen Gechev from BSP for Bulgaria.

"This process takes time. The negotiations take a year or two.The production takes several years. Airplanes are not lollipops in the supermarket that we can buy by going in, filling baskets with lollipops and ice creams," Atanas Slavov of the Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group replied.

"How much more do we have to give to our Euro-Atlantic masters to get at least some favourable conditions? Because this treaty is criminal, because it is an absolute robbery against Bulgaria, because at such a price other countries received not F-16s, but F-35s," said Kostadin Kostadinov, the leader of "Vazrazhdane".

"We have to take a political decision, which formally gives the opportunity to negotiate the purchase of F-16 aircraft from the United States, but in fact we are buying security," Mustafa Karadayi said, expressing the position of the MRF.

The validity of the US offer sent to Bulgaria is until 15 December, GERB-UDF reminded. That is, by then we should have a ratified treaty.

"To say that something is still on the drawing board is foolish. Every thing that is bought new, it is still being produced, nobody keeps combat aircraft available, waiting for someone to buy them, neither ammunition nor anything, said MP Hristo Gadzhev of GERB-UDF.

"There is a letter dated July 2022 from the US Agency for Security and Cooperation, which allows the Bulgarian state to take advantage of all legal possibilities to review the payments in the interest of the Bulgarian side in the event of a delay in the delivery of the first tranche of F-16s. We urge the Council of Ministers to take advantage. This is a condition for the support of our group", explained the co-chairman of “We Continue the Change” Kiril Petkov.

"All of us in this hall, behaving as statesmen, should support the continuation of this contract, because we are talking in this case about the Bulgarian Air Force and the possibility of having half or a whole squadron," Bulgaria Ascending” leader Stefan Yanev was adamant.

After being repeatedly called upon to weigh in on the debate, after the vote caretaker Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov explained that of the first eight aircraft, we will be able to keep six in service after a while.

"Two of them will be permanently on duty. This means that with only four planes, duty aviators have to carry training. Four aircraft at 150 hours can do 600 hours. The 14 aviators get less than 50 hours per aviator. This is extremely inadequate. That's why we should have eight more planes and make it 16, to have a full squadron," said caretaker Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.

The draft decisions and the contract provide for Bulgaria to pay for the fighter jets by 2032. The package consists of three contracts: for aircraft, for guided air missiles and an information management system.