Greenville

Embarking on a visit to the United States, Defense Minister Todor Tagarev, accompanied by Defense Chief Admiral Emil Eftimov, directed their attention to the Lockheed Martin plants in Greenville, South Carolina. Their mission: to engage with company executives, observe the aircraft production process, and monitor the advancement of the F-16 Block 70 destined for the Bulgarian Air Force.

In a significant milestone for Bulgaria's military modernization, representatives from the Ministry of Defense and the Bulgarian Air Force recently undertook a comprehensive tour of the Lockheed Martin plant in Greenville, South Carolina. The purpose of the visit was to witness firsthand the advanced stages of assembly for the F-16 Block 70 fighters destined for Bulgaria.

Bulgaria will receive training simulators for F-16 fighters for training pilots for national and NATO missions from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Bulgaria is among the first countries to receive F-16 Block 70 fighters and will have simulators with the latest technical configuration.

"A very important priority for the next government must be to ensure full readiness for the acceptance of purchased and already paid F-16 fighter jets and to achieve full operational capability very quickly once they arrive - say, by 2024-2025.

A wildfire raging in Northern California exploded in size overnight, becoming the third-largest wildfire in state history amid high temperatures and strong winds. Better weather conditions were expected to aid the firefight on Friday.

More than 15 vehicles are involved in a pile-up that took place on the freeway on Saturday near Greenville. The accident was due to the passage of the storm "Claudette".

Lockheed Martin will open a base for maintenance, partial and complete renovation (MRO facility) in Bulgaria, said Jim Robinson, "International Business Development for the F-16 in the US company. This means that Bulgarian aircraft can be maintained in Bulgaria by local engineers and technicians throughout the duration of their 12,000 hours of flight hours.

The American F-16 Viper fighters, for which Bulgaria negotiates, will almost certainly be produced in India. Lockheed Martin proposed to open a new factory in the Asian country and move the production of US planes into it in an attempt to win a major military order from the New Delhi authorities.

A mysterious illness with Ebola-like symptoms which appeared in southeast Liberia is now in the country's capital, local authorities say. Both the government and the World Health Organization (WHO) put the revised death toll from the illness at 12.

Dozens of abandoned golden retrievers "rescued" from Turkey have arrived in Atlanta, U.S. media has reported, adding that English interpreters were hired to help them in their new life.