President Rumen Radev has asked US company Lockheed Martin to start industrial cooperation and technology transfer programmes so that Bulgaria can fully use the F-16 fighter jets it purchased as part of its army modernisation pledge.
Bulgaria has purchased 16 F-16 Block 70/72 fighters for about $2.2 billion – the largest military investment since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact – to replace its small and ageing MiG-29 fleet for which only seven to eight aircraft can be used simultaneously. Half the planes have already been paid for, the rest will be paid for in instalments.
“The acquisition of defence equipment is an important stage in the process of modernisation of our armed forces, but to be of full value, it must be accompanied by industrial cooperation and technology transfer,” said Radev during a meeting with representatives of the US company in Sofia on Tuesday.
But the delivery of the first F-16s is scheduled for 2025 due to a two-year production delay that caused quite a stir in Bulgaria, where strong pro-Russian sentiments remain.
The production delay is also problematic for the air force, given that the current MiG fleet is expected to no longer be useable from mid-2023, virtually leaving the country without airspace protection until the first F-16s are delivered in 2025.
At the moment, six Spanish Eurofighter fighter jets are helping to protect Bulgarian airspace, which is key to NATO’s eastern flank because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Radev also told Lockheed Martin that he expects the company to deliver the jets on time and create conditions for the repair and maintenance of the F-16 in Bulgaria, which will optimise the defence resources invested by the country, as well as the opportunities for the development of new defence technologies.
During the conversation, the president also asked Lockheed Martin for a partnership in the production of combat drones.
(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
Source: euractiv.com
