Mikoyan

Bulgaria's Defense Ministry has said it seek to enter direct talks for the supply of ten engines for MiG-29 fighter jets, Offnews.bg reports.

The development was announced on Tuesday by the ministry itself after a meeting with the single bidder, a company called Aviostart.

The Bulgarian defence ministry informed on Friday that it has launched a public tender for the supply of ten engines for MiG-29 fighter jets.

The engines can be either new or repaired ones and are needed to extend the operational capacity of five fighter jets, daily Sega informs.

Bulgaria will spend about BGN 2.42 B (EUR 1.24 B) to keep airborne its MiG-29s fighter jets and acquire new warplanes as well as patrol ships under a defence procurement investment plan approved by the government, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

The cabinet approved the three investment projects earlier on Wednesday.

Bulgaria's government approved three investment projects to modernizing the country's navy and air force worth over 2.4 billion leva [around 1.2 billion euro] on Wednesday.

The projects concern buying new fighter jets and multi-functional patrol ships, as well extending the lifespan of a minimum of ten MiG-29 fighter jets.

The Bulgarian government has started procedures for the acquisition of new armaments for the needs of the country's air force and navy.

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the government approved three investment projects, which concern the extension of the lifespan of the MiG-29 fighter jets and the acquisition of new types of fighter jet and multi-functional module patrol ship.

The defence council to Bulgaria's defence ministry is expected to meet on Tuesday to review the draft project for acquisition of a new warplane for the needs of the country's air force.

This was announced by Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev during a press conference on Monday.

The Albanian Defence Ministry has postponed an auction of old Russian and Chinese-made military planes following an unexpectedly large number of requests to take part in the bidding.

Earlier this month, the ministry put out a routine announcement of an auction on February 22 to sell 36 planes and four helicopters parked in military aerodromes.

If Serbia's plans to buy air defense systems and MiG-29s from Russia are successful, these arms "will restore the balance in the Balkans."

According to Moscow-based Kommersant paper, quoted by Sputnik, this balance "could be undermined by Croatia's plans to buy operational-tactical missiles MGM-140 ATACMS from the U.S." - ones that have the range of 300 kilometers.

The Bulgarian Air Force could have its ageing Soviet-made combat aircraft replaced by new multi-role warplanes in the next three to three-and-a half years, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev said on Wednesday.

The government commission tasked with studying the available options is expected to submit a report by the end of March, Nenchev told bTV broadcaster.

Bulgaria will call a tender for six new engines for its MiG-29 fighter jets and the relevant spare parts by the end of the month, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev said on Tuesday.