Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

108 years since first military flight in Europe

The Albatross
Photo: lostbulgaria.com

The first military flight in Europe was carried out by Bulgarian pilots – Radul Milkov and Prodan Tarakchiev. It was a reconnaissance flight on board the German Albatross over the besieged Edirne fortress.

It took place on 16 October, 1912, just days after the start of the first Balkan War, lasted 50 minutes and astounded the Ottoman army. The flight by the two pilots trained in Germany, France and Russia has gone down in the history of the Bulgarian air force. That is the reason why, in 1963, the Council of Ministers issued a decree declaring 16 October day of the Bulgaria’s air force.

The modernization of the Bulgarian air force is ongoing. Under contract with the American Lockheed Martin, Bulgaria purchased 8 F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft for the sum of over 2 billion Leva.

The first 6 aircraft are to be delivered in this country in 2023. The remaining two will be used in USA for pilot and technical ground staff training up until 2024, after which they too will join the Bulgarian air force.

At the end of September the government announced it was planning to purchase another 8 aircraft to fully modernize Bulgaria’s air force. 

Compiled by Yoan Kolev



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Bulgarian-Swiss Association "Kanatitza" is building a small Bulgaria outside the homeland

Switzerland is one of the smaller Central European countries on the Old Continent. It consists of twenty-six cantons with a population of about 9 million people, according to the latest Eurostat data from 2024. 41% of those residing in the country are..

published on 10/29/25 6:10 AM

20 projects in 9 areas to be implemented by Bulgarian and Chinese universities

Bulgaria and China have agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in the field of science, technology and innovation at a high level, as well as in academic exchange. This happened during the Eighteenth Session of the Commission for Scientific and..

published on 10/28/25 11:40 AM

Bulgarian students win four medals at the IOAA in Romania

The Bulgarian team is returning home with four medals from the Youth International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) , held in the Romanian city of Piatra Neamț, the Ministry of Education and Science announced. The competition brought..

published on 10/27/25 5:28 PM