Four F-35, Dutch fighter planes manufactured by the American firm Lockhead Martin, have been taking part in the defense of Bulgarian skies since April, alongside Mig-29s from the Bulgarian Air Force.
Deployed within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) “air police” missions (air policing) against the background of the war in Ukraine, these aircraft have taken over from the four Spanish Eurofighters which came in February to support the modest Bulgarian fighter, which has only a few Soviet-type combat aircraft in operational condition and whose maintenance depends entirely on the goodwill of Moscow.
Bulgarian caution
Lockhead Martin’s F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is a so-called “fifth generation” aircraft, virtually undetectable by radar, capable of conducting ground attacks and providing air superiority . Unsurprisingly, his appearance at the Graf Ignatievo airbase near Plovdiv (in the south of the country) sparked some excitement in Bulgaria. “On April 14, Dutch fighters made their first flight alongside Bulgarian MiGs, in a ceremony attended by the Chief of the Bulgarian General Staff, Admiral Emile Eftimov, and the commander of the Netherlands Air Force, General Dennis Luyt”, recalls public radio BNR.
Many television channels were also