Bulgaria Receives First American F-16 Block 70 Aircraft for Operational Compatibility with NATO and EU Allies

Bulgaria has just received its first F-16 Block 70 aircraft at Lockheed Martin's Greenville plant in the US.

This was announced by Georgi Panayotov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the United States of America.

Commenting on the news, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said that this continues the upward development of Bulgaria's strategic defence partnership with the United States.

With the acquisition of the F-16 Block 70, the Bulgarian Air Force will create new capabilities that will allow it to achieve full interoperability with NATO and EU allies, the statement said.

Under the two contracts signed in 2019 and 2022, Bulgaria will receive a total of 16 fighters.

By the end of 2025, Bulgaria will receive 8 aircraft under the first contract with the United States, and by the end of 2027, it will receive the remaining 8 aircraft under the second intergovernmental contract.

‘Thus, the Bulgarian Air Force will have a squadron of 16 state-of-the-art fighters, which will surpass all other analogues in the world. There are few countries that have F-16s, block 70s and Bulgaria is one of them,’ said Ambassador Georgi Panayotov.

The aircraft are in the colours of the Bulgarian Air Force and have inscriptions in Bulgarian and English.

‘The adoption of F-16s and Stryker armoured vehicles, and the construction of a new nuclear reactor in Bulgaria by the American company Westinghouse are a turning point in Bulgarian-American relations. This is a strategic partnership in action. For a more secure and sovereign Bulgaria, for the betterment and prosperity of the Bulgarian people,’ Panayotov added. 

The first two fighter jets will land in Bulgaria at the end of April 2025.