Breaking news
Bulgaria plans to replace its Russian-made fighter jets fleet.
| 2014
| a | |||
| |
|||
World
Aviation Defense and Security News - Bulgaria |
|||
| Bulgaria plans to replace its Russian-made fighter jets fleet | |||
Bulgaria's
military will scrap three dozen of its Russian-made fighter jets and bombers
to reassert its independence from Moscow, the Bulgarian defense minister
said. The plan to get rid of all Russian-made aircraft is part of Bulgaria's
military development program through 2020 to further integrate the former
Soviet bloc nation into the NATO defense alliance, of which it is a member,
Bulgaria's Trud newspaper reported Monday, October 6.
|
|||
 Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft |
|||
The
Bulgarian military will present to parliament within six months a list
of new airplanes to replace the 15 Russian-made MiG-29,
the six MiG-21 fighters and 14 SU-25 bombers that remain in Bulgaria's
air force, the report said.
The plan, which Defense Minister Velizar Shalamanov described as a bid to strengthen Bulgaria's independence from Russia, is expected to go ahead despite protests by pilots and maintenance workers who expect the replacement of aircraft to cost 300 jobs, Trud reported. Russia's annexation of Crimea and its meddling in eastern Ukraine has prompted a series of moves from eastern European nations to boost their ties with NATO. |
|||