2024-04-15 08:51:57
The US is sending a heavy inspection to certify the 3rd Graf Ignatiev Air Base to accept the new Bulgarian F-16 fighters, and if it is not successful, it is possible that Bulgaria will have to temporarily base the aircraft on foreign territory, as has happened of Slovakia.
American specialists will arrive in our country at the end of April to certify part of the facilities necessary for the reception of the first F-16 Block 70 combat aircraft. This was announced by the Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov regarding the stage of preparation of Treta Air Base for the reception of the first batch fighter jets.
“On April 22 and 24, the chief of defense will be in Graf Ignatievo with experts and specialists on the subject. We are following this matter very carefully. There will be experts from the American side. It is very important that they be here. They will certify the facilities – one of the facilities must to receive certification in order to receive the aircraft on our territory,” the defense minister said.
Zapryanov also said that it is very important for the certification process to be successful. He explained that if this did not happen, the country could find itself in the situation of Slovakia, which had to deploy its F-16 Block 70 on foreign territory.
The Minister of Defense added that the certification is for some of the security elements, OFFNews writes.
Regarding the financial parameters for the preparation of the infrastructure, he assured: “The financial means are provided there, there are also other needs that must be resolved, as some problems arise in the constructive construction itself.”
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense, Hristo Gadjev, announced that “in the next two weeks, we will visit the place of the committee”.
A week ago, Todor Tagarev, who was then still serving as the Minister of Defense, announced that the Ministry of Defense was working intensively on the acceptance of the first combat vehicles. He then stated that infrastructure construction projects are divided into two categories – objects directly related to aircraft and those related to infrastructure improvement.
Tagarev also said that the contracts, which are directly related to the acceptance of the machines, must be concluded by the end of 2024.
A few days ago, however, he warned that “the risks of not being ready to welcome the planes remain”. At the time, he expressed the position that the efforts of the team he led at the Ministry of Defense failed to compensate “sufficiently for the lag”.
For the training of one F-16 pilot, we pay 2 million dollars each, he will operate a machine for 150 million dollars, and with the armament for over 200 million dollars, and when he returns to Bulgaria, what salary will he be paid. This rhetorical question was asked by the Acting Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov in the program “Why, Mr. Minister?”. He confirmed that an American inspection is coming for the certification of the air base.
According to the Minister of Defense, 7 of the Bulgarian fighters are currently on the assembly line. The first 3 will be delivered by the end of this year. “However, they will remain in the United States until March 2025 to train our technical staff. In the second quarter of next year, we will receive three more aircraft, and by the end of 2025 – the remaining two. Practically at the end of the next year, we will have eight planes and 14 trained pilots,” said Zapryanov.
The military pay we currently provide is not competitive with the training and qualities these people possess. These people are trained in military academies and come out with several specialties and a good command of the English language. Finally, wages are low. A soldier receives BGN 1,450, and a lieutenant a little over BGN 1,800,” the head of the Ministry of Defense also pointed out.
Deputies proposed a 30% increase in the salaries of the military a few days ago. “I think this is a good approach – a national approach. I have no doubt about it, but we will wait for the decision to pass through our parliament. This will be a good motivation for young people who would apply for a military school,” he explained.