Bulgaria is due to begin a long-awaited test of the readiness and training of its air force, Euractiv reports.
Sofia protects part of NATO’s eastern flank with old, difficult-to-maintain MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 aircraft supplied by the USSR more than 35 years ago. Military experts have repeatedly warned that outdated military equipment is a serious obstacle to good pilot training. Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov stated:
The organisation, training, discipline and whether Bulgarian military pilots have enough hours in the air will be checked.
On 13 September 2024, Bulgarian aviation suffered another fatal loss during a demonstration flight at the largest military airbase, Graf Ignatyevo. Pilots Petko Dimitrov and Ventsislav Dunkin died when the L-39 combat trainer aircraft crashed.
The investigation is still ongoing and the black box of the crashed aircraft has been sent for analysis to the Czech Republic, where the training aircraft was manufactured.
The box will give information about the actions of the machine and the pilots, but a complex analysis will also be done.
The first major incident in Bulgarian combat aviation occurred in 2018, when a Mi-17 military helicopter crashed due to a mechanical malfunction. Two people died that day.
One of Bulgaria’s top pilots, Major Valentin Terziev, died in June 2021 when a MiG-29 fighter jet crashed into the sea near Shabla. The prosecutor’s office closed the investigation, concluding that pilot error was the cause.
In 2023, an Su-25 attack aircraft crashed. The pilot managed to eject, but the crash further reduced combat aviation resources.
Sofia also purchased 16 new US F-16 fighter jets, with deliveries to begin next year
