14 pilots will be able to fly the F-16 fighter jets in our country, announced the commander of the "Graf Ignatievo" airbase, Gen.

Nikolay Rusev in front of BTV.

According to him, the rebasing of the fighter jets at Plovdiv airport, which is necessary due to the completion of the area for the new planes, has already been completed.

Ministry of Defense: Airspace security duty will be performed from Plovdiv Airport

Bulgaria is conducting intensive talks with Poland about new engines to extend the life of the MiG-29 until 2023. The resource of 1 engine is 350 hours, which means about a year and a half of flights.

The Graf Ignatievo base will be upgraded to welcome the first F-16 fighters in 2025. Until then, we are negotiating with 4 countries for intermediate aircraft to be able to fly combat missions.

A total of 14 Bulgarian pilots will be ready to fly the new machines from the USA.

F-16 fighter jets