Bulgarian Defence Minister Stefan Yanev stated on January 25 that the delivery of eight F-16 jets would be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yanev met the statement during the Bulgarian Parliament's Defence Committee hearing. Bulgaria is set to receive eight F-16 Block 70 aircraft. The country has been advised to expect a delay in its deliveries due to supplier and Covid problems
Yanev stated that he had received information from the manufacturer noting supply chain delays that would affect all buyers of the newly-produced F-16s. He predicted that the delay would be measured in months. However, He noted that the precise duration would be known in the second part of February when a US group comes to Sofia to review the Bulgarian programme.
In July 2019, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered eight F-16C/D Block 70s. The initial two aircraft were scheduled to arrive in November 2023, followed by four more in April 2024, and the final two in August 2024, according to the delivery timetable provided at the time.
The Bulgarian Air Defence wants to swift its existing Mig-29 fleet into F-16. In August 2021, then Defence Minister Georgi Panayotov a parliamentary hearing that Bulgaria has released a letter of request (LOR) for a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for the second batch of eight F-16 Block 70 multirole fighters.
