On June 8th, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense announced that Lockheed Martin had completed the delivery of the second of its new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets to the country’s Air Force, which is currently undergoing a modernization process aimed at replacing its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighters. This latest delivery comes just over a month after the arrival of the first aircraft, which was grounded for additional inspections due to an anomaly detected during its ferry flight, delaying its incorporation into the operational fleet.
According to further details provided by the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, the F-16 arrived at the Third Air Base located in Graf Ignatievo, where it was received by the Chief of Defense, Admiral Emil Eftimov, and the Commander of the Air Force, Major General Nikolay Rusev, along with other military authorities and base personnel. The aircraft, tail number 313, is part of the single-seat fighter variant acquired by the Bulgarian Air Force.
Speaking about the arrival of the aircraft and the integration of the F-16 platform into the Bulgarian Air Force, Admiral Eftimov stated during the reception: “The process of accepting the new F-16 Block 70 platform into our Air Force and the Bulgarian Armed Forces continues successfully. Welcome to our second fighter aircraft, which arrived today at the Third Air Base. We are continuing with the acceptance and refinement of this new aircraft. The goal remains the same: to receive all eight F-16s from the first contract this year. We are working hard to reach Initial Operational Capability in real terms.”
In relation to this, it is worth recalling that Bulgaria is on track to field a fleet of 16 Lockheed Martin-built fighters to form a complete squadron. According to the planned delivery schedule, the aircraft will arrive in two batches of eight units each. As Admiral Eftimov noted, the first batch is expected to be fully delivered by the end of this year, while the remaining eight fighters are set to arrive in 2027. This timeline allows the host base to complete ongoing infrastructure works, currently underway with financial support from the United States.
Image credits: Bulgarian Ministry of Defense
