The contract between Lockheed Martin and the United States Air Force for the production of the F-16 Block 70 aircraft is expected, Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence has commented. The announced deadline for implementation, January 2027, is in line with the intergovernmental agreement between Bulgaria and the USA. The first 2 aircraft must be delivered to Bulgaria in mid-2023 and the last 2 at the beginning of 2024. After the delivery of the aircraft, a 3-year maintenance period for the equipment and systems begins. It ends in early 2027, reads the information from the Ministry of Defence.