Aircraft

A second Bulgarian pilot has completed the basic F-16 training course. The training took place at the US National Guard base in Tucson, Arizona.

Currently, 8 pilots are at different stages of their training. According to the first contract for the fighters, the US must train 14 pilots.

Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos has said he would not rule out a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, in the near future, an invitation for which has already been extended from the Turkish side.

Day 387 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Poland said Thursday it plans to give Ukraine about a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfill Kiev's increasingly urgent requests for warplanes to defend itself against the Russian invasion.

The Pentagon has released footage of what it says is a Russian aircraft conducting an unsafe intercept of a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.

The 42-second video, released Thursday, shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 drone and beginning to release fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said.

U.S. claims "unsafe & unprofessional intercept," Russia says drone moved "provocatively" toward border.
The incident happened on March 14, when there was an encounter with Russian fighter planes "Su-27".

The tension has resulted in an increasing number of warships and aircraft from non-belligerents wanting to get as close as possible to each other and see what the other is doing.

A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on March 14 in a "brazen violation of international law," causing American forces to bring down the unmanned aerial vehicle, the U.S. said.

The US Air Force was forced to ground its drone, the US military said.
The military says the drone was conducting a routine operation in international airspace when two Russian jets attempted to intercept it.
The statement also said that an "unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians" almost caused one of the fighter jets and the drone to crash.

The Ministry of Defense has issued a public order for the purchase of six refurbished engines for MiG-29 fighters. For the delivery of the engines, the military department has set aside BGN 26.4 million including VAT, according to a reference in the portal for public procurement.