Bulgaria Welcomes Additional F-16s Ahead of Full Squadron Build-Up
Jerusalem, 19 October, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – Two additional Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 fighter jets landed at the Third Air Base – Graf Ignatievo, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. The aircraft arrived under the 2019 contract with the United States.
The fighter jets were met by Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov, Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev, acting Third Air Base Commander Colonel Metodi Orlov, representatives of the United States mission in Bulgaria, and the air base personnel.
Delivery is proceeding according to the agreement with the US Government. The first four jets have been received, the next two have arrived, and the final two are scheduled for delivery by the end of the year, Zapryanov said. He added that as 2026 approaches, Bulgaria will have fully completed the contract with the United States, allowing for the technological commissioning and test flights of the newly delivered jets.
The Ministry of Defence also noted that additional equipment and supplies are still being delivered under the contract. Zapryanov emphasized that every effort is being made to ensure full training facilities for pilots at the Third Air Base – Graf Ignatievo. He recalled that, at the start of his term, only one out of 49 infrastructure projects at the air base had been completed and accepted.
“Now we have 17 new projects completed in 2024 and 2025, and another 17 in the process of being accepted. Importantly, we have significantly accelerated the construction of the building for the installation of the flight simulator, as having a simulator is just as vital as acquiring the aircraft themselves for the training of our pilots,” Zapryanov said.
The two new Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 jets are single-seat combat aircraft. They arrived in Bulgaria still bearing United States Air Force insignia and will now undergo technical and flight acceptance procedures. By the end of 2025, Bulgaria is set to receive all eight jets under the International Agreement “BU-D-SAB,” with six already on Bulgarian soil. Upon completion of the second contract, the Bulgarian Air Force will field a full squadron of 16 F-16s.
The F-16 fighters will assume combat duty once pilot training is finished and all terms of the 2019 contract have been met, Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev said in an interview marking October 16, Aviation and Air Force Day.
Bulgaria currently has six pilots cleared to fly the F-16. Of these, only two are fully trained on Bulgaria’s specific F-16 variant. The other four, who trained in the United States on earlier F-16 models, must log several flights on the Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 before they can operate the fighter solo, Major General Rusev explained.
