site.btaGovernment Mandates Defence Minister to Sign Contracts for Purchase of Eight F-16 Block 70 Jet Fighters

Sofia, July 10 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Council of Ministers has mandated the Minister of Defence to sign four contracts for the purchase of eight multi-role F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft, Deputy Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, who heads the interdepartmental working group, said here on Wednesday. The package price for the aircraft, ammunition, equipment and pilot training is USD 1,251,256,000. The US Congress can cover 60 million dollars of this price, Zapryanov added.

The amount approximately translates into 2.1 billion leva. In mid-January, Bulgaria's Parliament mandated the Government to negotiate with the US on the acquisition of eight F-16 fighter aircraft. The budget for the purchase was initially capped at 1,500 million leva before VAT, but the legislature subsequently lifted that restriction. On June 4, the US Congress approved Bulgaria's acquisition of a complete package of eight fully equipped jets, all additional aircraft systems as well as future upgrades and newly introduced weapon systems worth a total of 1.673 billion dollars (2.925 billion leva).

The first contract is for the supply of eight jets (six single-seaters and two two-seaters) with additional aircraft support systems and pilot training. The second contract is for the ammunition. The third contract is for air-to-air missiles. The fourth contract is for the aircraft tracking and control system. All aircraft will be delivered by 2023, Zapryanov said without specifying the arrival dates.

The full report of the working group will be published on the Defence Ministry website, Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov said. "The actual price that Bulgaria will pay will be lower, it will be under 1.200 billion dollars if the US Congress covers 60 million dollars of it," Karakachanov said.

Once signed, the contracts will be re-approved by the Council of Ministers and will be laid before Parliament for ratification, most probably next week, Karakachanov and Zapryanov said.

Commenting the news in front of journalists late on Wednesday, President Rumen Radev, who is also former Air Force chief, said that the Government is obliged to ensure the aircraft's operational capabilities and technical maintenance the way they were drafted in the Defence Ministry, adopted by the Council of Ministers and approved by Parliament. He said although the price has been reduced, there is a significant discrepancy between these parameters.

"I understand the enthusiasm that something will happen, but there is no room for enthusiasm. I expect there to be a very pragmatic approach to this project," the President noted. According to him, the total domination of political motives over the operational capabilities and conditions for the aircraft's technical maintenance, which are being postponed in time and will increase in cost significantly, could render the project meaningless. RY/DT, MY