Bulgaria is expected to receive two decommissioned F-16 aircraft from the US Air Force, pending approval from the US Congress.
This was announced by US State Department assistant secretary R. Clarke Cooper during his visit to Bulgaria.
At the request of Bulgaria’s government, these two airframes will be transferred through the US Department of Defense’s Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program for use as training aids and general familiarization tools for Bulgarian Air Force personnel.
The donation of these two fighters follows Bulgaria’s recent purchase of eight Block 70 F-16s from the US. In April this year, Lockheed Martin received a $512 million contract for work on the delivery of the eight aircraft.
“Bulgaria’s purchase of F-16s from the US via the foreign military sales system represents a deepening of our defense partnership. We have conducted more than 170 joint military engagements in the past two years,” a statement from the US embassy in Bulgaria said.
Bulgaria expects to receive the first two of the new aircraft from Lockheed in mid-2023 and the last two in the first quarter of 2024.
