site.btaUPDATED Defence Minister Zapryanov Visits Lockheed Martin's Greenville Site

A delegation led by Bulgaria's Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov Thursday visited Lockheed Martin's Greenville site in South Carolina where the F-16 Block 70 jets are manufactured, the Defence Ministry said. On January 31, Zapryanov will attend the handover of the first of 16 aircraft ordered in 2019 and 2022.

The Bulgarian delegation is on a three-day to the United States. It includes Deputy Defence Minister Adelina Nikolova, the Deputy Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Krasimir Kanev, the Bulgarian Air Force Commander, Major General Dimitar Petrov, and the head of the Defence Ministry's Armaments Policy Directorate, Colonel Vladislav Shekerov. The handover ceremony in Greenville will be attended by Bulgaria’s Ambassador to the US, Georgi Panayotov and Defence Attaché Ivan Bogdanov.

The meetings with the management of Lockheed Martin focused on the progress of the programme for the production of the 16 aircraft and future cooperation. The visitors toured the production facilities where the aircraft are assembled and signed the fuselage frame of the fourth fighter jet for the Bulgarian Air Force. After that, they spoke with Bulgarian engineers and technicians, who are there for training for the maintenance of the new aircraft. This training is crucial for the successful integration of the new F-16 Block 70 into Bulgaria's combat aviation.

"The Bulgarian engineers and technicians training at Lockheed Martin's Greenville site are fully capable of mastering the aircraft. These are specialists who have great potential and are highly motivated to effectively absorb the training for maintaining the new aircraft," Zapryanov said after meeting with them.

"The American instructors say the Bulgarian engineers and technicians are doing an excellent job in their training. This is a complex technology, and we must do everything possible to retain in the Bulgarian Armed Forces the new generation of flight and engineering personnel who will operate the new multirole fighters," the Defence Minister stated.

He emphasized that the commissioning of the new aircraft is a major transformation in the Air Force's combat capabilities, as the F-16 Block 70 is the best fourth-generation multirole fighter.

The first two aircraft - a single-seat F-16D and a two-seat F-16C - are expected to arrive in Bulgaria in April. By the end of 2025, the Air Force is set to receive all eight aircraft (six F-16D and two F-16C) under the first contract and have a sufficient number of trained pilots and mechanics for their operation.