Bulgaria President Rumen Radev waits for a flight in a U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon at 3rd Air Base, Bulgaria, Sept. 13, 2024. The Air Force’s 31st Fighter Wing, based in Aviano, Italy, has been working with the Bulgarians to help them transition to the F-16 in 2025. (Synsere Howard/U.S. Air Force)
Bulgaria will soon be flying American-made F-16s as it transitions from Soviet-era aircraft to modern jets, with some help from U.S. airmen based in Italy.
At a ceremony Friday in Greenville, S.C., an F-16 Block 70 was handed over to Bulgarian officials, according to a statement this week by manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The delivery is a precursor for 15 more of the fourth-generation fighter jets.
The F-16 Block 70 represents a significant upgrade from the Russian-made MiG-29s and Su-25s that have long served the country in specialized roles in air combat and close air support.
Bulgaria ordered eight of the planes from the U.S. in 2019 and another eight in 2022 after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The jet delivered Friday as well as a second from the order are slated to arrive by April, Bulgarian Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov said Saturday.
By year’s end, Bulgaria figures to have eight F-16s in service and expects the other eight to arrive sometime next year or thereafter, Zapryanov said.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov delivers remarks at a ceremony in Greenville, S.C., on Jan. 31, 2025, marking the delivery of the first F-16 Block 70 jet to Bulgaria. (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics)
The U.S. Air Force’s 31st Fighter Wing, headquartered in Aviano, Italy, has been working with the Bulgarians to facilitate the transition to modern NATO fighter jets.
Last summer, airmen from the wing were at Bezmer Air Base in east-central Bulgaria for Thracian Viper, an exercise “specifically designed to help the Bulgarian air force prepare for the acquisition of eight F-16s in 2025,” according to a wing statement in July.
And in September, Brig. Gen. Tad Clark, the 31st Fighter Wing commander, took Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on a flight in an F-16 assigned to the 510th Fighter Squadron.
“Events like this highlight the future of Bulgaria’s air defense,” the wing said in a statement at the time.
Bulgaria spent about 2.2% of its gross domestic product on defense last year, slightly surpassing NATO’s target of 2%, according to alliance figures. Bulgarian officials said Monday that the F-16 purchases would push defense spending above 3% of GDP.
