Bulgaria will receive its first two F-16 fighter jets at the end of March next year

Bulgaria will receive eight F-16s next year. This was announced in Dolna Mitropolia by caretaker Defence Minister, Atanas Zapryanov, on November 14. The first two will arrive at the end of March - beginning of April 2025.

We should be ready to start training people for the F-16, Zapryanov said.

"The pilots assigned for training have been sent to do so. Some failed to make it and came back, their preparation continues. We have already prepared a pilot and an instructor. I hope we will have enough pilots when the first eight fighter jets arrive," the minister said.

Zapryanov also noted the importance of infrastructure. We will get the F-16s, but they cannot sit on the ground. We must immediately proceed to training of pilots.

"If the pilots don't fly for a certain time, we will have to bring them back for retraining. Because of this we are also in a hurry with the infrastructure, it is a big challenge," the minister explained.

He attended a ceremony to acquire an augmented virtual reality system, allowing real-scale learning of the F-16 Block 70 aircraft, and to take delivery of two new CABRI helicopters at the Higher Air School "Georgi Benkovski" in Dolna Mitropolia.