Bulgarian Army

Bulgarian Air Force Faces Trouble Over Anti-Russian Sanctions

Bulgaria’s military may only retain two Russian-made MiG-29 jet fighters by May 2015, according to Bulgaria's Air Force commander-in-chief Rumen Radev.

Bulgarian Air Force commander-in-chief Rumen Radev has warned that only two of Bulgaria’s Russian-made MiG-29 jet fighters may remain in service by May 2015, according to the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.

Radev lamented the fact that the country’s military had neglected to repair the MiG-29 aircraft engines and hadn’t conducted preventive maintenance for many years.

"It is impossible to buy spare parts and repair the Russian-made aircraft due to the imposition of sanctions against Russia”, Radev said.

According to open sources, Bulgaria's Air Force owns twelve MiG-29 combat fighters and two MiG-29UB combat training planes, in addition to other combat vehicles.

Radev said that the situation has prompted Bulgaria to consider turning to its immediate NATO neighbors Greece and Turkey for the protection of Bulgarian airspace.

He added that "joint defense would be the best step."

At the same time, Radev made it clear that creating such a defense system will take money, which he said Bulgaria cannot currently afford.

Radev said that another option could be the creation of an air defense shield in Bulgaria which would be supported by NATO, a system that he said is already in place in the three Baltic countries.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150208/1017968247.html#ixzz3R9wCJVOV

higurashihougi wrote:http://www.bta.bg/en/c/DF/id/1030039?ModPagespeed=noscript

Defence Minister: Repairs of Bulgaria's MiG Aircraft Cost as Much as 16 New Fighter Aircraft

http://www.novinite.com/articles/167031/MiGs+Repair+%27Too+Expensive%27+-+Bulgaria+DefMin

MiGs Repair 'Too Expensive' - Bulgaria DefMin

Really ?

yes really, if they are to far gone you dont just simlpy "repair" things, a genral overhall is needed which is nearly like rebuilding a new plane... in that case it would be sometimes smarter to buy a new one all together and sell the old one for scrap or canabilze 2/3 of them to maintain the other 1/3 a littel longer

iran spend huge money and build a whole industry branch just to service ther F-14's

Actually the real reason they are expensive is that for countries that have economic sanctions against Russia suddenly Russia is no longer a source of parts and support... so you have to approach other users and why on earth would they sell their spare parts to anyone?

If they do it will be to make a large profit... hense expensive.

Bulgarian Air Force Eyes Purchase of Used Fighters to Replace Russian MiGs

Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Nenchev has announced that the Air Force needs to begin a fighter procurement program involving the purchase of Western fighters and the refitting of Soviet craft in order to keep the Air Force from being permanently grounded, Bulgarian media have reported.

Speaking before a parliamentary defense committee on Thursday, Nenchev noted that the Air Force must submit their plans for the purchase of used multirole fighters from NATO countries or from Sweden by late June.

The Air Force plans to scrap its five 1950s-designed MiG-21s by the end of 2015, but it remains unclear what the country will do with its 12 MiG-29 air superiority fighters, a more recent design, dating back to the mid-1980s.

Air Force Commander Major General Rumen Radev clarified that the Air Force would be looking to have several of the MiG-29 fleet's planes revamped without costing the Ministry of Defense any additional funds, with the Institute of Defense creating a program to extend the aircraft lifespan.

But it remains unclear what the country plans to do to extend the fighters' engines, which will reach the exhaustion of their technical usability by mid-2016. Commenting that Bulgaria has yet to reach an agreement with Russian engine manufactures, Nenchev noted that the Air Force may receive the necessary technical assistance for servicing the MiGs from Poland, which may offer (presumably used) engines at half the cost. Poland had initially acquired 12 MiG-29 aircraft in the 1980s, and 32 more from the Czech Republic and Germany after 1990. Polish experts are expected to arrive later this month to carry out negotiations with the Air Force.

Among the used Western aircraft being eyed by the Defense Ministry are American F-16s, Western European Eurofighters and Swedish Gripens. "All of this does not mean that we will see new planes by next year. The pace of progress in this project depends on what we will do with the MiG-29," Nenchev noted.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov says that he hopes to maintain political and economic relations with Moscow at a high level, adding that he would like to see anti-Russian sanctions lifted before the end of the year.

Bulgarian business newspaper Kapital has explained that the Air Forces ambitions for new aircraft may be checked by the country's coalition government. The Council of Ministers froze defense spending increases late last year, citing lack of funding. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the country's Treasury have since voiced similar sentiments. Kapital notes that the substantial additional investment necessary for new aircraft are not on the horizon for the period between 2016-2018.

The Bulgarian economy has faced stagnating growth rates over the past five years following the economic crisis of 2008-2009. A report by UNICEF from earlier this month revealed that nearly 28 percent of Bulgarians between 19-24 are not economically active. The country's economic recovery has been further hampered by EU sanctions and Russian countersanctions over the crisis in Ukraine, and by Bulgaria's decision to reject participating in the South Stream pipeline project, which would have given the country $600 million in annual transit fees, as well as favorable rates on the supply of natural gas.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150522/1022459956.html#ixzz3auJLzbcU

lol, serves them right don't it.
Sabotage Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline to please West; no more oil pipeline
Sabotage South Stream gas pipeline to please West; no more gas pipeline
Sabotage Belene NPP project to please West; no more NPP
Sabotage MiG repairs to please West; no more MiGs

Bulgaria is run by NATO stooges, who sabotage their own country's chances at an independent foreign policy. If Hungary can propogate its own interests via co-operation with Russia, while remaining a NATO & EU member - there's no reason why Bulgaria can't in theory either.

But of course if Senator McCain can fly to your country, criticize your government and by so doing instigate a political crisis in your country that ends up with the resignation of the president and his replacement with someone more palatable to Senator McCain - then your country has a problem; a big one.

Bulgaria To Acquire New Fighter Jets by 2019

WARSAW — The Bulgarian Air Force is aiming to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-designed fighter jets with new aircraft in the next three to three-and-a-half years, said Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev, as reported by local news agency Novinite.

The government commission, which was tasked with studying the available options, is expected to submit a report on the planned procurement by the end of March, according to Nenchev.

The minister said the government is likely to sign a deal to acquire new multirole fighter jets by the end of this year. According to earlier reports, to date, the Bulgarian Defense Ministry has shortlisted three offers. These include the US F-16s, which were withdrawn from service; Sweden's Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The move is in line with the government’s plan to decrease Bulgaria’s dependency on Soviet- and Russian-made gear. When the country joined NATO in 2004, Sofia vowed to replace six of its Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters and purchase eight new aircraft by 2016.

The Bulgarian government is aiming to increase its military spending from the current 1.3 percent of its gross domestic product to 2 percent by 2024. Under the plan, 20 percent of Bulgaria’s defense expenditure is to be allocated to acquisitions of new gear.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2016/01/22/bulgaria-acquire-new-fighter-jets-2019/79174700/

Bulgaria Approves Plan to Buy Fighter Jets, Patrol Vessels Worth $1.7Bln

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160330/1037219097/bulgaria-fighter-jets.html#ixzz44P0hGVAB

Hahahaha... they didn't maintain their MiG-29s properly so now the mechanic bill is so high... their solution is to buy some expensive newer planes or an even older aircraft... I wonder how long they will last because if they didn't maintain their old planes, who is to say they will spend money on these newer or older planes?

All planes are the same... if you don't do the maintainence then you need to spend big on replacement parts.

Perhaps they are hoping with the service entry of the F-35 that there will be a lot of cheap F-16s on the market soon.

The problem with that is that the F-35s will likely be very expensive so most countries might keep their existing aircraft longer than previously expected, or indeed they might save some money by reducing their maintainence spend on existing aircraft knowing they will soon be replaced... either way old F-16s will either cost more or will be dogs when they get them.

Sanctions = self inflicted wounds.

George1 wrote:Bulgaria Approves Plan to Buy Fighter Jets, Patrol Vessels Worth $1.7Bln

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160330/1037219097/bulgaria-fighter-jets.html#ixzz44P0hGVAB

they would be better buying new Mig-29M2/SMT, or second hand Su-27SM but it seems Bulgaria has cut off the thought of buying from Russia again due to EU/NATO pressure, they will no doubt buy old second hand F-16 which will useless, cost a fortune to purchase, and cost a fortune to maintain, or they will end up buying or leasing Jas Gripen, the problem with either is the fact pilots will have to learn a completely different system which will mean more training=more cost. Hence Mig-29M2/SMT would be perfect. To be honest i would rather see them buy Chinese aircraft than give their money to western nations or USA.

god damn why is nobody realisitc, sell and scrap that BS, by some L-159B or M-346, CAS, air patrolling + training aircraft in one done!

why the hell do they need anything more? air superpower bulgaria? ready for war against romania? lmao

and if they want to play as support in some NATO war both of these aircraft's could do it too, they wont be doing much more then simple reconnaissance or some basic bombing anyway under any circumstances

I agree... one of the biggest fundamental flaws in NATO is what I called Fighter envy.


Because every country within NATO also has their own military they feel the need to have their own military... but most countries can't afford all the bells and whistles... so they have the core products... the fighter planes and the tanks and APCS but not the expensive extras that only rich countries can afford like AWACS and JSTARS and decent transport aircraft of all sizes.

That means when 10 NATO countries turn up in Kuwaite ready to fight Saddam only one country brings decent transport aircraft and AWACS and JSTARS etc etc and the other 9 countries bring their own fighter planes... so you have 6 or seven different types of fighter planes but only one type of AWACS and only a couple of examples.

I have said before that these new NATO countries should not bother with expensive fighters and other shit other NATO countries already have in abundance... what they should be buying are transport aircraft of all types so when NATO next invades a country to steal whatever they want to steal at least they will contribute something useful to the coalition instead of some more second hand old model fighter plane.

I think New Zealand should do the same... we got rid of our Skyhawks as they would be of no value in any conflict we might get involved with... what we should be doing is getting rid of our crappy C-130s and buy some Il-476s so we can actually transport decent payloads decent distances... our allies wont like that we bought Russian but who can afford half a billion for each C-17?

NationalRus wrote:god damn why is nobody realisitc, sell and scrap that BS, by some L-159B or M-346, CAS, air patrolling + training aircraft in one done!

why the hell do they need anything more? air superpower bulgaria? ready for war against romania? lmao

and if they want to play as support in some NATO war both of these aircraft's could do it too, they wont be doing much more then simple reconnaissance or some basic bombing anyway under any circumstances

I of course was only stating if they were wanting such fixed wing then options i mention were in relation to that. However on grounds of "what" is actually needed i quite agree Bulgaria and many other nations don't need such aircraft, hence some south American countries have purchased Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano and this does the job, i personally think the Super Tucano to be a great aircraft for CAS, but of course if you wanted the next step up then armed version Yak-130 would be perfect. I think Russia is missing out on a market by not pushing the armed version of the Yak-130 to South American countries, Africa, and other nations who either dont have the requirement for more or have the budget for more advanced aircraft. The beauty about the Yak-130 is its cost, maintenance and versatility, the Yak can be used in any role trainer, ground attack, anti-air, anti-surface(naval), recce, etc.

Bulgaria is a member of NATO, no way to buy Russian birds i guess..

George1 wrote:Bulgaria is a member of NATO, no way to buy Russian birds i guess..

unless a BREXIT causes snowball effect and the EU and NATO crumble (wishful thinking lol)

i suppose they could buy the Italian version M-346 as someone mentioned earlier.

There will be no "Russian arms" market in NATO I don't know why everybody brings it up as if Bulgaria or Spain or who ever will by heavy Russia equipment that needs service and supply parts from the selling nation and vise versa.
even if the relations between the NATO country and Russia are even "good" it mostly still at the end only symbolic "good will" deals and some technological cooperation.
Its sound silly and stupid when people go on that NATO country X should by Russian plane Y and Tank Z for their military.. Well not going to happen. Thats why I carefully said here also M-346 and not Yak-130 (not going to happen)

and,if I would be the leader of Bulgaria operating under a NATO doctrine I also wouldn't by Russian weaponry, surely nothing that needs Russian services for upkeep and supply, even the bombs would be needed to be importet

NationalRus wrote:There will be no "Russian arms" market in NATO I don't know why everybody brings it up as if Bulgaria or Spain or who ever will by heavy Russia equipment that needs service and supply parts from the selling nation and vise versa.
even if the relations between the NATO country and Russia are even "good" it mostly still at the end only symbolic "good will" deals and some technological cooperation.
Its sound silly and stupid when people go on that NATO country X should by Russian plane Y and Tank Z for their military.. Well not going to happen. Thats why I carefully said here also M-346 and not Yak-130 (not going to happen)

and,if I would be the leader of Bulgaria operating under a NATO doctrine I also wouldn't by Russian weaponry, surely nothing that needs Russian services for upkeep and supply, even the bombs would be needed to be importet

i think you have already made this point a couple of post ago lol

Not really

Bulgarian SU25

Bulgaria: MiG engines wanted, new or used


Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry has called a tender to acquire 10 engines for the air force’s Soviet-era Mig-29 jet fighters, specifying that the engines can be new or restored.

The ministry is prepared to spend up to 30 million leva (about 15 million eur) underlining that it will buy only as many engines as the budget allows.

The most economically advantageous offer will be chosen, according to the ministry.

Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev initially said that his ministry planned to buy six new engines for the ageing Russian-made fighters. But with only Russia producing new engines, it appears the Bulgarian Defence Ministry has decided to widen its options by saying that it could also buy used ones.

The initial acquisition plan had a 50 million leva budget, from which 20 million has now been shaved.

One of the requirements is that the supplier should be able to deliver the engines within a year and ensure service life of at least six years.

A Nato member since 2004, Bulgaria has committed itself to acquiring new jet fighters to meet the alliance’s standards. Through a succession of governments since Nato accession, and in spite of various plans and announcements, little or no progress has been made on the issue.

Recently, however, Bulgaria’s Cabinet approved the presentation of a package to Parliament that would see a request for approval for spending on acquisition of jet fighters, patrol vessels and other military equipment.

Bulgaria contracted with Poland in 2015 for that country to take over from Russia the repair and maintenance of the Bulgarian Air Force’s MiG-29s, to keep the old aircraft flying to carry out border air policing duty pending the acquisition of modern aircraft.

The new fighter acquisition is expected to involve either Gripen, which is offering new modern multi-role fighters against a deferred easy payment plan, or Bulgaria getting second-hand US-made F-16s, or Eurofighters.

Initial plans of the Ministry of Defence were to get 16 jet fighters in two tranches for a total of more than 1.5 billion leva. Ultimately, however, this amount might only cover the acquistion of the first eight fighters, a report by Mediapool noted.

Nenchev has indicated his belief that a jet fighter acquisition contract could be signed by the end of 2016, but there are doubts about this, considering the financial decisions required, the negotiation process and other issues, notably precisely how Bulgaria would fund the project.

higurashihougi wrote:    

https://www.rt.com/news/347087-bulgaria-nato-black-sea/

Bulgaria's prime minister ruled out participation in plans to form a united NATO Black Sea naval task force to counter the Russian Navy in the region.

“I always say that I want the Black Sea to see sailboats, yachts, large boats with tourists and not become an arena of military action ... I do not need a war in the Black Sea,” Reuters cited Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov as saying at a media briefing.

“To send warships as a fleet against Russian ships exceeds the limit of what I can allow,” Borisov told reporters in Sofia on Thursday, as cited by Bloomberg. “To deploy destroyers, aircraft carriers near [the resort cities of] Bourgas or Varna during the tourist season is unacceptable.

“If a decision is made to create a permanent force, of course, it would be destabilizing, because this is not a NATO sea," Russian news agencies quoted senior Foreign Ministry official Andrey Kelin as saying.

“Let's stop with the speculations that fleets will be set up against anyone,” Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev stressed, adding that “Bulgaria is a peaceful country and its foreign policy is not aimed at anyone.”

So why did they join NATO?

We have x10 times more military on and around our islands but nobody cares. Same goes for Cyprus. Bulgarian governments are being typical silly, cancel the all pipeline projects and then hope that with such punch-lines they can appeal to Russia.

Pathetic.