October 7 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria has sought offers from four countries for the acquisition of fighter aircraft to boost Air Force defence capabilities from 2023 until the F-16 jets contracted from the US are deployed, which is expected by 2027-2028, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Requests for proposals were addressed to Sweden, France, the US and Israel. So far, Sweden and France have responded, with Bulgaria awaiting the response of the remaining two countries, the defence ministry said in a statement.
"We are making the utmost efforts to source 6+2 engines from Poland. The discussions are at an advanced stage, but there is no final decision yet," caretaker defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov said, referring to replacement engines for the Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters currently operated by the Bulgarian Air Force for air policing missions.
Stoyanov added that these engines will be able to be used on the MiG-29s until the end of 2023, which makes it necessary to seek offers for acquisition of other aircraft.
Swedish manufacturer SAAB declined a SeeNews request to comment on Bulgarian media reports of contacts involving Gripen and Bulgaria, instead referring the enquiry to the Swedish government.
"What we can say is that we remain convinced Gripen C/D would fulfill the needs of the Bulgarian Air Force to protect its air space and perform all the tasks as a NATO member," a spokesman for SAAB told SeeNews in an emailed statement.
The Bulgarian defence ministry plans to include all received offers into an investment expenditure proposal, which will be submitted for approval by the new parliament that has yet to be convened for its first session. The early general election held last Sunday produced no clearcut winner and no formal talks have begun on viable government coalitions.
The defence ministry also said that the US has granted an extension to December 15 from November 1 on its $1.296 billion (1.32 billion euro) offer to Bulgaria for the purchase of a second batch of eight F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft. That potential purchase must be also cleared by the newly-elected parliament.
In 2019, Bulgaria paid in full $1.2 billion for the purchase of a first batch of eight F-16 Block 70 jets from the US manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Bulgaria has obtained an initial proposal from Sweden for the acquisition of 10 SAAB JAS 39 Gripen C/D aircraft and has requested to receive an offer in due course, according to a letter sent last week by Stoyanov to his Swedish counterpart Peter Hultqvist and published by Bulgarian news outlet 24chasa.bg. Bulgaria prefers a lease option and is open to the purchase of used aircraft as well, the letter shows.
Last month, the Bulgarian caretaker government approved additional spending of 109.6 million levs ($54.8 million/56 million euro) under the defence ministry's budget for 2022 for the upgrade and maintenance of military equipment, including to ensure the airworthiness of Bulgaria's ageing fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets.
With the Russian war on Ukraine showing signs of escalation recently, Bulgaria has faced the need to ensure sufficient capabilities to fulfil its air policing obligations as a NATO member.
In 2018, Sweden offered Bulgaria to provide new Gripen C and D series fighter aircraft but Bulgaria opted for the F-16 contract instead.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)