Mikoyan MiG-29

The location where a Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft crashed in the Black Sea in the early hours of June 9 during a nighttime training exercise has been confirmed.

Debris from the crashed aircraft is scattered across a large area on the sea bed. The black box has not been found, Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihailov, told a briefing for the media on June 17.

We are checking what could have gone wrong to lead to the MiG-29 crash. Hypotheses - as much as you want, speculation - as much as you want. It is clear that something sudden and unexpected has happened, what is it that the ongoing investigation should show, the Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov told BNT today.

The 47-year-old Major Valentin Terziev is the pilot of the MiG-29 fighter jet missing in action over the Black Sea, colleagues of the pilot said. He is among the most experienced aces at the air base in Graf Ignatievo as per flight hours.

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.

The life jacket of the pilot of the lost fighter was found in the sea today at about 10 o'clock, BNT reported.

The search for him continues. It involves forces and assets from the Navy, the Joint Special Operations Command, the Border Police and the Air Force.

A MiG aircraft has crashed into the sea off Shabla during the Shabla 2021 military exercises, confirmed for BNR Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, Commander of the Navy.

Two military pilots will join the second and third groups that are earmarked to go to the US to be trained to pilot F-16 fighter jets, said Deputy Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov at the sitting of the parliamentary defense committee.

Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish jets, all part of the NATO Air Policing, intercepted a Russian aircraft on May 19, which was flying close to the NATO air space, the Allied Command Operations (ACO) said.

According to a written statement by NATO Allied Air Command on May 21, the Alliance Quick Reacting Alert jets were dispatched to prevent Russia from entering the air space.

A MiG-29 fighter jet crashed during a training flight in Slovakia. The pilot was able to catapult and survive, according to the Department of Defense. The incident happened in the western part of the country.

The Defense Ministry said that the Serbian military gets its biggest donations from Russia, following Blic writings about USA being its major donor (based on data on donations between 2014 and 2018).