Bulgaria has transferred the first installment for the second eight F-16 fighters.

This was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) for BTA.

Today was the deadline for the first payment set by the US side. 

Last week, the official cabinet adopted a decree approving additional expenditures under the Ministry of Defense budget for this year in the amount of BGN 31,110,457 to pay the first installment for the acquisition of eight new F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft, ammunition, funds for training, support equipment, spare parts, initial support and training for the Bulgarian Air Force, as well as for the acquisition of a multifunctional information distribution system - a joint tactical radio system and related support and equipment.

The cabinet released money on the first installment for the purchase of the second 8 F-16 fighter jets

On November 25, with 151 votes "for", 42 - "against" and eight "abstentions", the parliament approved the acquisition of the second eight aircraft.

At the beginning of December, it became known that the assembly of the first Bulgarian fighter F-16 had begun. 

On Monday, President Rumen Radev held a meeting with representatives of the American company Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-16 fighter jets.

The head of state expressed the expectation that the production and delivery of the F-16 fighter jets will be completed on time, so that our country can preserve and develop its own capabilities for the protection of our airspace.

F-16 fighter jets