site.btaBulgaria Has Sent 18 Pilots to US to Train on F-16, Two Have Completed Main Course - Defence Minister

A total of 18 pilots have so far been sent for F-16 training in the US, an two of them have completed the basic course for this type of aircraft, reads a written reply of caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov to Ivaylo Mirchev MP of Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria. 

The training of aircrew in the US under the contracts for the acquisition of F-16 Block 70 aircraft started in 2020, Zapryanov recalls in his reply.

Earlier this year, the Minister said that next year Bulgaria will receive eight ouf the sixteen F-16 fighter jets purchased from the US. The first two will arrive at the end of March or in early April 2025. The next ones will be delivered in the second quarter of the year, so all eight aircraft will be in Bulgaria at the end of the third quarter of 2025, Zapryanov explained.