site.btaDeal Signed with Poland to Repair Bulgarian Fighter Aircraft

Deal Signed with Poland to Repair Bulgarian Fighter Aircraft

Sofia, August 28 (BTA) - Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev and Polish National Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak on Friday signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement and a Letter of Intent on Armament Cooperation. In the Letter of Intent, the sides reaffirm their willingness to cooperate in maintaining, repairing and upgrading MiG-29 fighter aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force and to expand their cooperation and expertise exchange concerning the maintenance of other current and future armament.

The Defence Cooperation Agreement sets a framework for cooperation in the field of defence and military relations between Bulgaria and Poland in areas of mutual interest.

Siemoniak said Bulgaria has designated Poland as its partner in repairing and upgrading its MiG-29 fighters.

According to an information note released during the signing ceremony, Poland can provide a full range of services to maintain the operational fitness and airworthiness of Bulgarian MiG-29 planes and modernize them in keeping with the highest technological standards and NATO requirements. Poland can provide reliable warranty for the services rendered and offer a reasonable price and a shorter term of execution of the contract.

Bulgaria and Poland agreed that the engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) of three Bulgarian MiG-29s will be repaired by the middle of 2016, and the engines and APUs of three more MiG-29s will be repaired by the end of that year, the information note says. Poland will provide a warranty of quality. The Polish Air Force's Institute of Technology and Chief Engineer will give the Bulgarian Defence Institute certificates of the STANAG 4107 standard of NATO.

The Polish state company WZL, with its divisions WZL 2 and WZL 4, provides a complete set of services for comprehensive integrated logistical maintenance of MiG-29 aircraft. Poland's own MiG-29s are entrusted to WZL for maintenance.

The note also says that a NATO member country needs at least one squad of 12 fighter airplanes to sustain a high level of combat readiness. Currently, the Bulgarian Air Force has four operational MiG-29 fighters whose service life has not expired, which makes the year 2015 critical for Bulgarian combat aviation. There has been a risk that after the middle of 2016 the Bulgarian Air Force can be left with only two operational fighters with a sufficient amount of service life.

In brief media statements, with no questions taken from journalists, Defence Ministers Nenchev and Siemoniak said the step they had just taken was of major importance for bilateral cooperation. Bulgaria and Poland have no unsettled issues between them, Nenchev said, adding that the two sides have reached agreement on all matters discussed between them. Siemoniak said the partnership decision about the MiG-29s is very important geopolitically.

Meeting with Siemoniak, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said Poland's assistance in maintaining the operating capabilities of Bulgarian MiG-29s will contribute to the special relationship which Bulgaria is building with Poland, the President's Press Secretariat reported.

Siemoniak told Plevneliev that Poland realizes how important it is for Bulgaria to maintain the airworthiness of its fighter fleet and will do everything within its powers to meet these expectations.

In addition to providing a means to extend the service life of Bulgarian fighter planes, the new agreements serve to deepen bilateral cooperation not only in defence industry but also in a number of other areas, Plevneliev said.