Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23

The Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria has initiated a public procurement process for the overhaul of six engines used in MiG-29 fighter jets, as revealed by data in the Public Procurement Register. The procurement process began on April 5, 2024, with a deadline set for May 17, 2024, for interested parties to submit their bids.

"We have problems with the maintenance of the MiG-29 fighter jets. We will rely on the MiG-29s until such time as air control duty can be taken over by the F-16s." This was stated by the Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev during his hearing in the Defense Committee of the National Assembly.

President Rumen Radev and Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov differed slightly in their explanations of whether Sofia offered the Bulgarian MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.

Bulgaria received today from Poland the first aircraft engine for the MiG-29 fighters. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense on its Twitter account.

Today ???????? received the first aircraft engine for the MiG-29. ????????, thank you for your #allied #solidarity! #StrongerTogether @PremierRP_en @MorawieckiM @Poland_MOD @mblaszczak

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.

"At the moment, no Ukrainian military equipment is being repaired on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria", said the Acting Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov, who took part in the celebrations on the occasion of 145 years of the Shipka epic.

Ukraine is frantically looking for fighter jets against Russia's invasion, and its pilots are literally begging for more planes. News from Romania could provide a partial solution, though perhaps not ideal, to the shortage of fighter jets in Ukraine, according to The Drive.

"In connection with inquiries regarding publications on the possible provision of Bulgarian jet fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force, we would like to inform you that such a topic has not been discussed in the Ministry of Defense." This was answered by the MoD to questions from OFFNews about the information that three NATO countries are transferring 70 planes to Ukraine, which may be ba

The MiG-29 crashed on June 9 during joint military exercises with Serbia in the Black Sea, while the pilot was killed. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

The Atlantic Council of Bulgaria demanded the suspension of all MiG-29 aircraft flights repaired by the Russian Aircraft Building Corporation and the immediate launch of a detailed quality check of the MiG-29 repairs carried out by a team of experts from NATO countries and Alliance partner countries.