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

Experts: Sweden and France may provide Bulgaria with fighter jets to replace the Mig-29s

Bulgaria will not receive its 8 US F-16s before 2025.
Photo: BGNES

Sweden and France are the only two countries that can provide replacement fighter jets until the first eight US F-16s ordered and paid for by Bulgaria arrive in the country, military experts have concluded. 

The Swedish Gripen and the French Mirage 2000 are the two most realistic options for Bulgaria, which must finally land its Mig-29s by the end of 2023, but will not get its first F-16s until then. The US was supposed to deliver the fighter jets in 2023, but during the Covid-19 pandemic it became clear that production would be delayed until 2025.
Italy, the Netherlands and Spain have reacted negatively to Bulgaria's expectations for replacement jets.



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

Bulgaria insists on building bridges over the Danube near Silistra and Nikopol

More bridges over the Danube are not just a bilateral issue between Bulgaria and Romania – they are a strategic priority for the prosperity of the entire EU and for our collective security within NATO.  This was emphasized by Deputy Prime Minister..

published on 11/6/25 8:46 AM

Bulgaria and North Macedonia sign an agreement on building a railway tunnel between the two countries

Today, the deputy PMs and ministers of transport of Bulgaria and North Macedonia Grozdan Karadjov and Aleksandar Nikoloski will sign an agreement on the preparation, construction and operation of a cross-border railway tunnel between the two..

published on 11/6/25 7:15 AM

Ex-PM Boyko Borisov: Delyan Peevski is unfairly sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act

GERB leader Boyko Borisov has told the media that he personally participated in talks with American representatives on the lifting of the Magnitsky sanctions against Bulgarian citizens. He said that he also spoke on the subject with David Cameron while..

published on 11/5/25 9:04 PM