site.btaUPDATED Defence Minister: Bulgaria Will Receive 8 F-16 Block 70 Fighters by End of September, First 2 to Come by April

The first two F-16 Block 70 aircraft for Bulgaria will arrive at the end of March-April, the second three in the middle of the year and the next three at the end of September, that is eight aircraft should arrive this year, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov told Nova TV on Sunday. He added that the first three fighter jets for Bulgaria have already come off the assembly line. One of the planes will stay in the US for training of Bulgarian technicians and the other two will come to Bulgaria, the minister said. 

This is a historic moment because Bulgarian combat aviation will receive a new combat aircraft of Western design, absolutely modern, Zapryanov said, adding that the Bulgarian pilots and technicians, who have been training in the US for almost two years, are very motivated. "I am hopeful that we will be able to smoothly welcome the aircraft and start using it, and that there will be no problems," the defence minister said. 

Zapryanov also said that the infrastructure is ready to welcome the first two aircraft. We have an American team involved in monitoring the preparation of the infrastructure and their conclusion is that the key sites that need to be certified for the planes to arrive are ready, the minister added.

On January 31, Bulgaria received its first F-16 Block 70 aircraft at Lockheed Martin's production facility in Greenville, USA, the government press service reported on its Facebook page.

Zapryanov commented on Bulgaria's NATO membership. "It gives full guarantee for our territorial integrity. Collective defence is the most economical way to build an army that guarantees national security," the defence minister said. He stressed that because of security and increased salaries in defence, interest in the profession has increased.

He also commented on Friday's incident in which a drone near Sofia airport caused delays in landing of planes. "We have no legislative provision for taking down drones if such are detected. A working group should be formed to initiate legislative changes and to write down such a procedure," Zapryanov said. According to him, such legislative changes are urgent and they can be adopted within three-four months.