Bulgaria Amends Aircraft Tender Criteria With F-16 in Mind

WARSAW, Poland — The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence has amended the technical specification of its fighter jet tender in a way that favors the purchase of used F-16s from Portugal, Bulgarian lawmakers have revealed to the country's parliament.

At a meeting of the parliament's Defence Committee, Atanas Zafirov, a member of parliament for the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), asked Defence Ministry officials whether it was true that the revised tender criteria reduced the maximum amount of weighed points allocated according to the aircraft's service life from 25 percent to 0 percent of the total, as broadcast by local TV channel Kanal 3.

The new criteria are expected to be approved by the end of this week by the country's Defence Council, a body which brings together the Bulgarian minister of defense and the country's top military officials. Afterward, the ministry will send out invitations for bidding to the interested parties.

The criteria of the contest that will pit the F-16 against Saab's JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft were changed following the departure of former Air Force chief Gen. Rumen Radev when he retired from his post. Last August, Radev announced his decision to run for president in the Nov. 6 election with the support of the BSP.

Bulgaria wants to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-21 fighter jets with new aircraft. The Defence Ministry plans to allocate about 1.5 billion lev (US $839.8 million) for the acquisition.

More In Air Warfare

Space Force mulling nuclear protection for missile-tracking satellites

The study could drive changes to future tranches of Space Development Agency and Space Systems Command satellites.

Space Force missile warning competition robust despite RTX exit

Col. Rob Davis, who oversees space sensing programs, said, "There’s no shortage of competition in the market."

Drone killing Marines: Corps seeks ‘buckshot-like’ counter-drone gear

The brass wants to see every Marine become a drone destroyer.

Here are the munitions Navy jets used for first time against Houthis

Fighter jets flying off the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower used a variety of munitions for the first time ever in combat, according to the Navy.

The first of 14 new F-16 fighter jets from the US land in Slovakia

Two F-16 Fighting Falcons arrived in Slovakia in Monday under a deal with the United States.