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Only after the arrival of the binding offer will permission be sought from the parliament
A request for a binding offer and a contract for the purchase of 8 more F-16 Block70 fighters was sent to the United States by the Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov. He answered this in writing to a question from the GERB-UDF MP Hristo Gadzhev.
Only after receiving the answer, which may take 6 to 8 months, will a draft investment expenditure be prepared and approved by the National Assembly. Any transaction of the military, which exceeds BGN 100 million, must have the prior approval of the deputies.
Due to interpretations that this means asking for more money in the budget update for the new fighter jets and that the caretaker cabinet will deal with their purchase, the press center of the Ministry of Defense spread the following position on Wednesday night: “The caretaker government neither leads nor has the power to negotiate the purchase of eight new F-16 Block 70 fighters. The draft budget update 2021 does not provide for any costs for the purchase of new fighters. “
However, the binding offer from the USA is actually a draft contract for the purchase of 8 more fighters and if Bulgaria decides to accept it,
ratification
can begin
right after
approval
of the project
from the deputies.
This approach differs from the actions of purchasing the first 8 F-16 aircraft. Then the military first received approval for investment spending from parliament, and then organized a competition in which the American plane was selected. Finally, however, the project was redesigned so that a contract could be signed for the purchase of eight brand new F-16s at a price of over BGN 2 billion, which Bulgaria paid together. As soon as this contract was signed, it was announced that Bulgaria would want to buy another eight of the American fighters in order to have a full squadron of 16 aircraft. The first F-16s should arrive in Bulgaria in 2023.
In February 2021, the Ministry of Defense received a response from the United States to a request from the third government of Boyko Borissov for prices and availability for the delivery of the second eight American fighters for the Bulgarian Air Force, according to the response of Minister Panayotov. As the information in the received answer is valid until December 15, 2021, he emphasizes in his answer to the MP.
If Bulgaria does not order its second eight fighters now, it will not be possible to actually have 16 identical planes, it became clear from talks between the Ministry of Defense and American representatives. The reason was that after the first 8 fighters ordered by the Bulgarian Air Force were produced, changes would be made to the aircraft, including the system for emergency departure of the machine in case of a problem.
“This circumstance could lead to a situation in which the Bulgarian Air Force will have to operate aircraft with different configurations. As potential negative consequences in this case it can be stated that two different catapult systems will have to be maintained, which have different procedures for use, and this in turn
may
threaten
safety
of the pilots “,
Minister Panayotov wrote as a motivation for the rush. In addition, it could take between 44 and 50 months from the sending of an application for the preparation of a contract to the delivery of the first fighters in Bulgaria due to the American procedures for approving military deals, he added.
The US offer, which awaits the government, does not bind Bulgaria with an obligation to purchase the eight new fighters, but will only provide information on prices and configurations, Panayotov explained in his response to MP Hristo Gadzhev.
Georgi Panayotov has requested a binding offer for eight more US fighter jets after reporting to the Council of Ministers. However, no decision has been announced by the caretaker government to continue with the procedure for purchasing new fighters.
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