13.04.2025
Today we welcome an aircraft whose combat number is 301 while we mark the beginning of the ideologically certain, steadfast and irreversible modernization of the Bulgarian Army. This was stated by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov at the official ceremony to welcome the first Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 fighter that landed at the Third Air Base in Graf Ignatievo. The Prime Minister pointed out that this day symbolizes an ideological transformation whose beginning was set in 2019 when, following heated political debate and a series of votes in the National Assembly, including an overridden veto, the then majority, standing for Bulgaria’s European development and the country’s Euro-Atlantic future, enabled the fighter contract to materialize. It is an honor for me to recognize the result of this effort, Rossen Jeliazkov said. The Prime Minister emphasized the civilizational choice that Bulgaria made with its EU and NATO membership, with the clear vision of adherence to democratic values, abidance by the rule of law and protection of human rights.
Further, Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov noted that F-16 Block 70 is a symbol of Bulgaria’s strategic partnership with the United States. It is strategic partnership in the area of defense but also in the energy sector and thus provides structural guarantees for our national security, creates guarantees for increasing the capability of our armed forces, creates guarantees for security in this troubled region of NATO’s Eastern Flank and the Black Sea, the Prime Minister said. He stressed that the multirole F-16 Block 70 fighter becomes part of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, part of the defense of our airspace, part of the defense of our national sovereignty, part of the combat capability of NATO’s Eastern Flank. Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov expressed his confidence that the modernization of Bulgaria’s army will help make the military career more attractive.
