17-3-2017
Three offers have been selected:
- Saab Gripen C/D from Sweden.
- Second hand F-16 from US, to be upgraded in Portugal.
- Eurofighter EF-2000 Tranche 1 from Italy.
Out of these, the Italian option is the most unlikely. The EF-2000 is quite expensive to operate in comparison to the other 2, and the air-ground capabilities are limited. Perhaps a similar deal to Romania's would be the best option, as both countries could cooperate in the maintenance/operations, as it was done with the MiG-23 during the Warsaw Pact era.
The government foresees an investment of 823 million $ to acquire aircraft, ground support equipment, training, and some weapons.
8-4-2016
The Bulgarian government has approved the replacement of MiG-29 and Su-25 acquired during the 1980s and 90s. A Western model will replace them. A total of 16 will be acquired. The first phase of the program will take place between 2018 and 2020; 8 aircraft will be acquired for an estimated 580 million $. The second phase will happen in 2020-2023.
Three offers have been selected:
- Saab Gripen C/D from Sweden.
- Second hand F-16 from US, to be upgraded in Portugal.
- Eurofighter EF-2000 Tranche 1 from Italy.
Out of these, the Italian option is the most unlikely. The EF-2000 is quite expensive to operate in comparison to the other 2, and the air-ground capabilities are limited. Perhaps a similar deal to Romania's would be the best option, as both countries could cooperate in the maintenance/operations, as it was done with the MiG-23 during the Warsaw Pact era.
The government foresees an investment of 823 million $ to acquire aircraft, ground support equipment, training, and some weapons.
8-4-2016
The Bulgarian government has approved the replacement of MiG-29 and Su-25 acquired during the 1980s and 90s. A Western model will replace them. A total of 16 will be acquired. The first phase of the program will take place between 2018 and 2020; 8 aircraft will be acquired for an estimated 580 million $. The second phase will happen in 2020-2023.
Bulgaria Air Force MiG-29 (Unknown copyrigth).
The Air Force has been struggling in the last few years due to budget constraints. It does have a fair number of MiG-29, but it’s an earlier variant, which is more costly to operate. Upgraded Fulcrums are 40% cheaper to operate according to Russian data. On the other hand, upgrading the MiG fleet is not an option because spares would have to be bought in Russia.
There has been talk of a few candidates. Saab has been proposing the Gripen for a few years and Italy has offered second hand EF-2000 from early blocks. Another option would be F-16 from Portugal.
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