Bulgaria is considering to buy additional F-16s and three ground radar systems

Name: Bulgaria is considering to buy additional F-16s and three ground radar systems
Uploaded: 2020-10-16
Channel: TOC
Description: Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced that his country is considering buying additional F-16 Block 70 fighters, the so-called F-16V, the latest version of this machine, learned BulgarianMilitary.com

By TOC On Oct 16, 2020

SOFIA, (BM) – Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced that his country is considering buying additional F-16 Block 70 fighters, the so-called F-16V, the latest version of this machine, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing Defence24. In addition, it is also considering the purchase of other weapons and equipment, including three three ground radar systems

These are exactly eight more F-16s that would join the eight machines of the same type and version, which were financed last year. In this way, Bulgaria would have a total of 16 aircraft, which would create a fully-fledged multi-role squadron.

Last year, after a very long and painful process for its budget, Bulgaria purchased eight F-16 Block 70s for $ 1.2 billion with an accompanying package. Currently, these machines are in production and pilot training is underway. Interestingly, in June, reports appeared that after the implementation of the first eight F-16s, Bulgaria would want to withdraw and sell 15 MiG-29 fighters currently in its possession.

These machines are currently in a very poor state of repair and at most a few are operational. It is related, inter alia, with the failure to comply with renovation contracts by the Russian company RSK MiG.

Just two days ago (October 14), information was released that RSK MiG provided Bulgaria with compensation in the amount of 185 thousand. EUR. It is precisely a contract from 2018, under which the Russians were to renovate eight of the 15 MiGs for EUR 40 million, so that they could fulfill the tasks of air policing.

Failure to comply with the agreement puts into question not only the ability of Bulgarian combat aviation to fulfill even the simple tasks of protecting its own airspace in peacetime, but also the ability to maintain the habits of pilots.

In this situation, it is not surprising that in June there were reports that after the first eight F-16s were put into service, the Bulgarians wanted to sell the MiG-29 and immediately order another eight American planes. It appears the Bulgarians planned to operate eight of them as a transitional solution and then phase them out as the second F-16s were introduced.

However, considering the delivery time of the first eight machines is not expected to end until 2024, this would mean that the next order would not take place until the middle of this decade, and the deliveries – probably at the end of it. This is an extremely long time horizon, especially considering the current technological progress. The Bulgarians would put the full F-16 squadron on standby on the eve of the entry into service of such systems as Tempest, FCAS / SKAF and at times when the Russian Su-57 can reach maturity.

The statements of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov quoted at present may, however, prove that the Bulgarians will not wait so long for the order of the second F-16 eight, and that the profession experienced on the Russian side will encourage them to buy the F-16 earlier.

Bulgaria wants to sell MiG-29s and buy another F-16 fighter jet

Bulgarian Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov said that it is planned to sell MiG-29 fighters after arming F-16 Block 70 multi-role aircraft as we reported on June 9. In 2018, Sofia ordered 8 machines of this type, and in an unspecified perspective plans to acquire the other enough to have a full squadron.

The declaration was made on June 4 during a meeting of the finance committee of the Bulgarian parliament. Minister Karakachanov stated that when 8 new machines were commissioned, there would be no need to maintain the entire current fleet of MiG-29 aircraft and some of them could be sold.

However, in order to fully withdraw these machines from service, it is necessary to acquire another 8 F-16 Block 70 aircraft. Then it would be possible to fully replace the existing fighters with a full squadron of multi-task machines.

This is important because MiGi-29 has been serviced for years in Russia for rates inadequate to the quality of the machines but also the timeliness and quality of parts delivery, which often arrived late and their documentation was incomplete. That is why it was decided to service them in Belarus.

Bulgaria theoretically has 14 MiG-29 fighters in service today. Why theoretically? Because it is realistically suitable to fly a maximum of half of them and there are no more than two aircraft in the ready state. The rest are cannibalized to keep them in the air.

The cost of 8 F-16 Block 70 multi-purpose aircraft ordered in 2018, together with service and training, is $ 1.2 billion. By the time they are brought into service, which is to take place at the turn of 2022-2023, the service of existing Bulgarian fighters is expected to cost about 90 million dollars.

So these are considerable amounts, and Sofia has planned an ambitious program of modernization of the entire armed forces, including new ships or infantry fighting vehicles. Hence, probably the declaration on the planned sale of the MiG-29s. However, their technical condition and age do not give a good chance that such a transaction, if successful, will bring significant income.

It is equally unlikely that Bulgaria will be able to order another 8 multipurpose aircraft in the near future. Both for political and purely economic reasons. 8 aircraft ordered in 2018 are the absolute minimum required to simultaneously patrol their own airspace and meet their alliance commitments to participate in NATO missions.

Bulgaria revealed Russian spies interested in army’s modernization and F-16s

The prosecutor’s office revealed on September 24 that two Russian diplomats carried out intelligence activities on the territory of Bulgaria.According to Bulgarian news agency, it is about the deputy trade attachés at the Moscow representation in Sofia – Sergei Nikolashin and Vadim Bikov.

It is also clear from the information of the prosecutor’s office that the unregulated activity of the “sales representatives” has been carried out since 2016. At that time only Nikolashin was in Bulgaria, while Bikov arrived in Bulgaria last year. This clearly shows that although the Bulgarian authorities have taken radical measures, the Russian side in no way gives up its attempts to influence the processes in our country and especially on the Euro-Atlantic orientation of Bulgaria, and hence the Balkans.

This is evidenced by the evidence gathered against the two, whose activity can be summarized in three directions. All related to defense and our military industry.

It was established that Nikolashin and Bikov were looking for classified information about the plans for the modernization of the armed forces. Undoubtedly, this includes information about the capabilities and capacity for the maintenance of new ones
F-16 aircraft, block 70, whose arrival is expected in a few years, as well as the intentions of our army to acquire unmanned aircraft.

The second area in which Russian intelligence has worked is identifying and contacting key MoD officials on whom public procurement depends and concluding contracts with foreign contractors. Here, in addition to the military, the Russian side also has a purely financial interest. Although Bulgaria has long been a member of NATO, our country continues to pay huge sums to Russia for the repair of old equipment.

There are many examples of incorrect implementation of contracts by the Russian side, as well as poor quality repairs. However, the long years of Russian influence and established dependencies often put the Bulgarian armed forces in a situation in which the executors of the repairs of the obsolete Soviet armaments were determined not in Sofia but in Moscow.

Particularly interesting is the third area in which Russian military intelligence has acted – the acquisition of classified information about the Bulgarian defense industry, its production capabilities and its development plans. Of strategic, political, economic and military interest for the Russian side is Bulgaria to lose its traditional markets for quality and relatively cheap products.

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