The first two F-16 Block 70s now officially delivered are expected to arrive in Bulgaria between late March to early April 2025. The delivery of the first batch will be completed this year, followed by the remaining eight aircraft for 2026/2027.
Nearly three months after the first Bulgarian F-16C Block 70 successfully flew its maiden flight on Oct. 22, 2024 from Lockheed Martin’s facility at Greenville in South Carolina, the company has now handed over the first jet to Bulgarian officials and representatives in a ceremony at the same location on Feb. 1, 2025. The aircraft was a twin-seat F-16D Block 70, bearing the tail number 301 and the roundels of the Bulgarian Air Force with a light grey paint scheme.
A day earlier, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence released images of a delegation, including Defence Minister Atanas Zaryanov and Bulgarian Air Force (BulAF) officials, visiting the Greenville facility. The pictures also showed another nearly complete single-seat jet with BulAF markings, with some panels missing around the M61 20 mm gun and vertical stabilizer’s base.
Присъстваме на историческо събитие от ключово значение за развитието на 🇧🇬 ВВС. Поставяме началото на обновяването на бойната #авиация и изграждането на нови способности от Въоръжените сили, с които ще осигурим пълна оперативна съвместимост със съюзниците от #НАТО и ЕС. #F16 pic.twitter.com/tDS7qfgVdG
— MoD Bulgaria (@BulgariaMod) February 1, 2025
The U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria on Jan. 30 also showed another single-seat F-16 Block 70, tail number 311, flying in full BulAF colors, mentioning it will “soon take to Bulgarian skies.” According to Scramble, this F-16 was the same one of the Oct. 22, 2024 maiden flight, flown by test pilot Charles “Seeker” Hoag, with the construction number MV-01.
As The Aviationist reported, Lockheed Martin announced the beginning of the production of the first eight BulAF F-16 Block 70 jets on Jan. 16, 2024, where MY-01, now 301, was scheduled to be delivered to Bulgaria in 2025. The aircraft flew at the time only with its primer paint, without the final livery.
This F-16 will soon take to the Bulgarian skies! Tune in this week for updates on the formal rollout ceremony, which will mark a new era for Bulgaria and our defense partnership. pic.twitter.com/vCwSBEVI8W
— U.S. Embassy Sofia (@USEmbassySofia) January 30, 2025
Zona Militar and other profiles published additional images of F-16 311 inside the Greenville facility. With the other nearly complete jet mentioned above, at least three BulAF F-16 Block 70s can be said to have been completed.
Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 program
The official handover of the first F-16 Block 70 comes as Washington and Sofia are working towards the replacement of the latter’s fleet of older Soviet-origin MiG-29s, with a total of 16 new aircraft on order. Bulgaria operated these older Soviet-era jets when it was a part of the Warsaw Pact.
According to the World Air Forces 2025 report, the BulAF operates 12 MiG-29s, divided into MiG-29 9.12A and MiG-29UB variants, two of which are used for conversion training. The delivery also makes Bulgaria the second European country, after Slovakia, to receive the F-16 Block 70.
Bulgaria started the acquisition of the jet in two Letters of Acceptance (LOA) in 2019 and 2022, each one for eight jets. The production contracts were worth $512 million and $1.3 billion respectively, with the 2022 contract also including additional spares and weapons. The first deal for eight aircraft is divided into six single-seat and two twin-seater jets, but the composition of the second contract is not known.
🗣️Това е сложна техника и ние трябва да направим възможното, за да задържим в редиците на #Българскатаармия новото поколение летателен и инженерно-технически състав, които ще експлоатират новите многоцелеви #изтребители #F16Block70. ⬆️#инвестициивотбраната #хоратавотбраната pic.twitter.com/gdBex1VpXX
— MoD Bulgaria (@BulgariaMod) January 31, 2025
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Lockheed Martin added in its statement that it has a backlog of 117 F-16 Block 70/72 jets to be produced in Greenville for international partners, with 23 already delivered. In Jan. 2024, while announcing the visit of then Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev, Ambassador Georgi Panayotov and defence chief Adm. Emil Eftimov at the Greenville facility to view the construction progress of the F-16 Block 70s, the company declared a backlog of 135 jets.
Bahrain, Greece and Taiwan are other F-16 Block 70 customers. Taipei has completed the upgrade of nearly 100 F-16 Block 15s to the Block 70 Viper standard.
Deliveries and operations
The first two aircraft (one F-16C and one F-16D) will arrive in Bulgaria between late March to early April 2025, according to the Bulgarian MoD. These will be followed by six more aircraft (five F-16Cs and one F-16D) later in the year, completing the first contract.
Deliveries from the second contract are expected to begin after 2026 or 2027. Pilot and ground crew training is also continuing in the continental United States.
Also, as a part of the original deal, Bulgaria received two Excess Defense Article (EDA) F-16A Block 15 aircrafts as well, to be used for training and familiarization purposes in preparation to the operation of the new F-16 Block 70s.
These F-16A Block 15s will however not be regenerated for flight operations and will be based at the Bulgarian Air Force Academy’s National Aviation Training Center for ground training. As for the training of BulAF personnel, 32 pilots will be trained in the United States, with 14 in the first phase and 18 in the second phase.
Most advanced jet in Bulgarian inventory
The Bulgarian MoD added that the F-16 Block 70 is a “completely new fourth generation aircraft”, which will support “full interoperability with NATO and EU allies.” The F-16 Block 70/72 are the most advanced production Vipers, which are newly built, as opposed to the F-16V which are existing aircraft upgraded to the same configuration.
Ние не купуваме само самолети, тренажори, въоръжение и бойни припаси. По двата договора за придобиване на 𝟏𝟔-те многоцелеви изтребителя в САЩ ще бъдат обучени общо 𝟑𝟐 летци – 𝟏𝟒 по първия договор и 𝟏𝟖 по втория.
#F16Block70 #ВВС
— MoD Bulgaria (@BulgariaMod) February 1, 2025
Among the new systems installed during the upgrade we can find the APG-83 AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, a new Center Pedestal Display (CPD), the AN/APX-126 Advanced IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), Link 16 datalink, full NVIS (Night Vision Imaging System) and JHCMS II (Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System II) compatibility, a new Embedded GPS/INS (EGI), a modern commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based avionics subsystem, a high-volume, high-speed data bus and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).
Bulgaria’s first F-16 Block 70, delivered. ✅🇧🇬 With upgraded radar, avionics and weapon systems, the F-16 Block 70 jet showcases our commitment to delivering capabilities that strengthen global security and support international partnerships. pic.twitter.com/XyZeBm8Oqv
— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) February 3, 2025
“The F-16 will help the Bulgarian Air Force stay ahead of threats in the region and play a key role in the allied peacekeeping mission in Europe and around the world,” said Mike Shoemaker, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager – Integrated Fighter Group. “The F-16 has proven its air dominance time and again, and the Block 70 version will give the Bulgarian Air Force a highly capable, combat-proven aircraft.”
