January 13 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's defence ministry said on Monday that it has signed a 7.9 million levs ($4.5 million/4.0 million euro) contract for the purchase of equipment for its MiG-29 fighter jets with Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG.
The equipment is expected to be delivered within 17 months, the ministry said in a notice.
The deal is part of a four-year framework agreement signed between the two parties in 2018. The agreement envisages integrated logistics support of 15 fighter jets of the Bulgarian Air Force - 12 MiG-29A and three MiG-29UB trainers - for a total of 1,450 flight hours per year.
In December, Bulgaria's government said that it has approved the defence ministry's intention to increase its expenditure in 2019 by 16 million levs to ensure the overhaul of the country's aging fleet of Russian-made MiG-29s.
In 2019, Bulgaria paid $1.2 billion for the delivery of eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets along with the related equipment and weapons from the U.S. The deal envisages the delivery of six single-seat F-16 jets and two two-seat aircraft used for training, as well as supply of weapons for the jets, Sidewinder AIM 9Х Block II missiles, and a multifunctional information distribution system joint tactical radio system (MIDS JTRS).
The first F-16 fighter jets are expected to be delivered to Bulgaria by the end of 2022.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)