December 8 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's caretaker government said that it has approved additional expenditure of 31.1 million levs ($16.7 million/15.9 million euro) under the defence ministry's 2022 budget which will be partly used to make the first payment for the acquisition of the second batch of eight new F-16 fighter aircraft.
The funds will also be used for new ammunition, training and maintenance equipment, spare parts, initial maintenance and training processes, the government said in a press release on Wednesday.
In addition, the ministry of defence will be able to purchase related communications systems and equipment, namely the MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS).
The caretaker government has already approved 60 million levs under the defence ministry's 2022 budget to allow building integrated systems and infrastructure and covering additional expenses related to the purchase of the aircraft.
In late November, the Bulgarian parliament gave final approval to the contract for the acquisition of eight new Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft from the U.S. for a total of some $1.3 billion, in addition to the first squadron of eight which has already been paid for.
Days earlier, U.S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin said that the production of the fighter jets ordered by Bulgaria is already underway.
The first eight fighter jets are expected to be delivered in early 2025, with the second batch likely to arrive in 2029, caretaker defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov has told local media.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)