SOFIA (Bulgaria), March 19, 2018, Author: Galina Zdravkova (Bm), Photo by Wikipedia

According to the said by the Minister of Defence Krasimir Karakachanov on Monday (March 19, 2018), Israel will be invited to participate in the competition for selection of a supplier of new fighters for the Bulgarian Army, reported mediapool.bg.

Karakachanov further explained that it will be requested from Israel an offer for a new modification of the F-16 Block 30 aircrafts, which is a much better option than the offered by Portugal and France fighters. The Minister also reminded that the large projects for modernization of the Bulgarian Army shall be again reviewed by the Council of Ministers and commented that they will not become more expensive if delayed.

It shall be also reminded that the initial procedure for selection of a supplier of new fighters was almost completed when irregularities were found after a parliamentary examination. After that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had the option of requesting new offers from the existing shortlisted candidates – SAAB (Sweden) for new Gripens, the USA and Portugal for used F-16 fighters, and Italy for used Eurofighters, but as of the moment the MoD is considering another option of expanding the range of possible offers to the maximum.

Despite all statements by the Minister of Defence, however, the Government of Bulgaria has not shown yet firm intention of purchasing new fighters instead of overhauling the old Russian MiG-29 jets.