Caretaker Minister of Defence, Atanas Zapryanov: Due to the Iran War, NATO’s Missile Defence Has Been Placed on Its Highest Level of Readiness

Due to military actions in Iran, NATO’s missile defence has been placed on the highest level of alert, and the readiness of air and missile defence systems across the Eastern Flank has been increased, said caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, who visited Graf Ignatievo Air Base today, March 17.

He was speaking during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of Graf Ignatievo Air Base - Bulgaria’s only current fighter base—equipped and developed to NATO standards. The anniversary was marked with flights by various types of aircraft, including the new multirole F-16 Block 70 fighters.

Even before the flights began, caretaker Minister Atanas Zapryanov stressed that NATO is not part of the US and Israeli military action against Iran and the countries on the eastern flank of the Alliance are not involved in this operation. However, planned exercises will be conducted.

Atanas Zapryanov - caretaker Minister of Defence:

"Very soon, other NATO activities will take place on Bulgarian territory, including aviation exercises—that is, the plans NATO has for troop training and for strengthening deterrence and security."

According to caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, the adoption of the extended budget will allow the Bulgarian government to advance nine key military modernization projects through an operational agreement under the European SAFE security funding programme.

Atanas Zapryanov, caretaker Defence Minister:
“Now that we have modern F-16 aircraft, it is not appropriate to rely on an analogue radar system that has only been partially digitized. We need 3D radars for a digital battlefield, as well as a new IRIS-T air defence system,”

The new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets were also presented in flight for the first time today. They performed training missions alongside MiG-29 crews and the L-39 trainer aircraft.

Major Todor Todorov, F-16 pilot:
"We have now flown all eight aircraft. All eight are operational, and we are conducting regular flights with them."

Lt. Col. Dimitar Metaksov, MiG-29 pilot:
"I think the F-16 will demonstrate all its capabilities sooner or later, once all the crew training is completed. We hope they will assist with combat air patrols."

Due to delays in the delivery of the second batch of eight F-16s, the MiG-29 fleet will need to remain in service until 2028. According to the Ministry of Defence, the service life of Bulgaria’s current fighters, which continue to guard the country’s airspace, expires in 2029. However, the engine order for the aircraft will need to be restarted.

photos by BTA