/ world today news/ Due to a lack of planes, Bulgaria may stop guarding its air borders, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov announced at a press conference, as quoted by the Hungarian Telegraph Agency (MTI).
Stoyanov said that Bulgaria has not received offers from partners for a possible replacement of its fighter jets and is still in talks with Israel, Sweden and France. He hopes to have final answers by February 15.
The minister informed that the work on extending the flight capability of the MiG-29 fighters continues. On this issue, negotiations are underway with repair organizations in various countries to resolve the issue with the engines of the machines. In January, Stoyanov announced negotiations with Poland: they have two MiG-29 engines and can supply them to Bulgaria without any problem.
Answering questions, the minister said that in principle the MiG-29s could be replaced by F-16s from Israel, Sweden’s Gripen or France’s Mirage, but the deal must be approved by parliament. At the moment, however, the parliament is not in session, and the next elections will be held on April 2.
Earlier, Bulgaria announced that it had to lease used combat aircraft for the air defense needs of the Air Force. These machines must perform air border protection tasks until the end of 2023, since then the resource of the MiG-29s currently in service will be exhausted.
The first eight US F-16 fighter-bombers, which Bulgaria bought in 2019 for $1.3 billion (468 billion forints), may enter combat service in 2027 or 2028.
Source
Translation: Dr. Radko Khandzhiev
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