First F‑16 in Bulgaria grounded over system malfunction
The first F-16 Block 70 that arrived from the USA in Bulgaria is not fit for flight. According to the Militarnyj portal, which cites the commander of the Bulgarian Air Force, a malfunction was detected in one of the onboard systems. This issue will only be resolved after the delivery of replacement parts.
The Bulgarians did not provide technical details but stated that the problem was identified in Bulgaria. There is uncertainty about whether the deviation from norms occurred during the fighter's transport from the USA or after its delivery. The fighter has been grounded due to the necessity of waiting for spare parts.
Bulgaria has a problem with the F-16
Former Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, who is also an aviation engineer, emphasized that the required replacement part is not currently available in Bulgaria because it was not included in the original delivery package. In his view, this omission was due to a desire to reduce order costs by choosing a cheaper offer instead of the option guaranteeing a 24/7 supply of spare parts from the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.
Bulgaria decided to purchase a total of 16 F-16 Block 70 aircraft (in two batches). Their introduction into service will be a significant change for Bulgarian combat aviation, which has until now relied on Soviet-era MiG-29s.
The contract signed with the USA includes, besides the F-16s themselves, an ammunition package comprising medium-range air-to-air AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, short-range air-to-air AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, and JDAM bombs.
