2024-09-13 14:04:28
At exactly 9:14 a.m., an F-16 fighter piloted by NATO General Thad Clark took off from Graf Ignatievo Air Base, with President Rumen Radev behind him in the cockpit. The demonstration flight will last about 40 minutes, the whole unit is on combat footing, there are many foreign journalists.
Other fighters, including MiG-29s, which will take part in tomorrow’s air show on the occasion of 20 years of our membership in NATO, are lined up at the centralized stand. They are doing a dress rehearsal today for tomorrow.
The president is currently in the air to see for himself the capabilities of the American fighter jet. The air base specified that he could not be the first pilot, as NATO airman General Clark is the first pilot. American planes arrived from the NATO base in Aviano.
Later today, the head of state will award the Presidential Medal of Honor to Brigadier General Thad Clark, commander of the US Air Force’s 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Force Base, Italy. The distinction is for his significant contribution to the strategic defense cooperation between Bulgaria and the USA.
