Recently, the Bulgarian National Assembly approved the first batch of purchase plans for the purchase of 8 F-16C/D Block 70 fighters with 162 votes in favor and 49 votes against, with a total contract value of nearly $1.3 billion, which is almost more expensive than the Americans themselves to purchase F-35 fighters according to unit price.
In fact, as early as around 2019, Bulgaria began to consider purchasing the F-16, but due to the problem of money and the opposition of many people in the parliament, the purchase of the F-16 has been shelved. Bulgaria is not only a member of the European Union but also a NATO country, and its overall defense strength is relatively worrying due to military spending constraints (only $1.2 billion in 2021). As of 2021, the Bulgarian Air Force has a total of about 8,500 personnel and 68 aircraft of various types, the main fighter types are mainly MiG-29 and Su-25 attack aircraft, and they are already considered old aircraft, and some MiG-29 models have been in service for more than 30 years, so the combat capability of the Bulgarian Air Force is basically at the bottom level within NATO.
This time the Bulgarian National Assembly was able to overwhelmingly pass the long-held procurement contract by a large margin, I think it was stimulated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which belongs to the same path as Poland's large-scale purchase of "Hymas" and drones. The first batch of 8 F-16C/D Block 70 fighters is expected to be delivered to the Bulgarian Air Force around 2025, and in the future, Bulgaria will add 8 F-16C/D Block 70 fighter orders, which are expected to be delivered in 2027. @headline@headline international@headline military@headline aviation
