Bulgaria has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LoA) for a second batch of eight new production F-16 Block 70 aircraft . The first of eight F16 aircraft that have already been ordered , and are scheduled to arrive in 2025.
This current order of eight aircraft will arrive in 2027. Collectively, the two orders will replace outdated MiG aircraft from the Soviet era, which are being withdrawn from service in 2023.
Bulgaria's Parliament has voted, 151-42 with eight abstentions, to ratify conclusively a bill ratifying the international agreement (LOA) BU-D-SAD "Acquisition of eight new F-l6C/D Block 70 aircraft, ammunition, training means, maintenance means, spare parts, initial support and training for the Bulgarian Air Force ," and the international agreement (LOA) BU-PLBC "Multifunctional Information Distribution System - Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) and related support and equipment". The bill was carried on two readings.
The two agreements implement the second stage of a project for the acquisition of new jet fighters for the Bulgarian Air Forces. The agreements are worth, respectively, USD 1,292,740,102 and USD 3,672,083.
Required budget outlays for Bulgaria for the second stage of the project for new jet fighters amount to a total of USD 1,296,412,185, excluding the VAT.
Amount is planned to be paid within a term of ten years, as Bulgaria has been granted a right to pay in installments all newly concluded agreements and the under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.
Though , the schedule of payments has been suggested by the US Administration, the schedule may be changed if a concrete agreement is amended, under the terms and procedure of the Republic of Bulgaria's International Agreements Act and/or coordinated with the Bulgarian Finance Ministry.
The process for concluding the agreements started in August 2021, with a Letter of Request for a Letter of Offer & Acceptance (LOR for LOA) by the then caretaker defence minister, followed by negotiations held during the term of the last regular government. The final agreements were signed on July 15, 2022 at the US European Command and on November 9, 2022 in Sofia.
The agreement on the first eight multi-role F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support, munitions, Sidewinder AIM 9X Block II Missiles and associated material and services at a price of USD 1.2 billion was signed in July 2019.
The first two jets were to be delivered in the middle of 2023 and the last two in the first quarter of 2024, but COVID-19 has delayed the implementation of the project.
Lockheed originally disclosed COVID-19 supplier issues on the F-16 Block 70 program in November 2021, two years after Bulgaria ordered the jet, admitting that the main source of the disruption was linked to a “major subassembly of the aircraft,” without identifying the foreign supplier.
In another development , the Bulgarian government looks to strike a deal for an interim fighter aircraft after holding talks with Sweden and France , while the southeastern European nation awaits delayed American F-16s.
Bulgaria requires an “interim” type to replace an aging MiG-29 Fleet that’s expected to be unserviceable due to maintenance issues from the end of 2023 onward.
Source : Bulgarian News Agency.
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