Lockheed Martin has delivered its first F-16 Block 70 fighter to new customer nation Bulgaria.
Handed over during a ceremony at the airframer’s Greenville production site in South Carolina on 31 January, the two-seat example has the service registration 301. The event was attended by officials including Bulgarian defence minister Atanas Zapryanov.
Lockheed completed a first flight of Bulgaria’s lead of 16 new-build aircraft last October, with that milestone event involving a single-seat example, which has since been painted and gained the registration 311.
“The F-16 will help the Bulgarian air force stay ahead of threats in the region and play a key role in the allied peacekeeping mission in Europe and around the world,” says Mike Shoemaker, vice-president and general manager of Lockheed’s Integrated Fighter Group.
“The F-16 has proven its air dominance time and again, and the Block 70 version will give the Bulgarian air force a highly capable, combat-proven aircraft,” he adds.
Aviation analytics company Cirium indicates that Bulgaria will take 10 single- and six two-seat F-16s via its acquisition. The NATO nation currently flies a combined total of 19 RAC MiG-29 fighters and Sukhoi Su-25 ground-attack aircraft, including trainer versions, it records.
Bulgaria will follow NATO ally Slovakia in fielding the Block 70-standard F-16, with Bratislava having received its first of 14 examples in January 2024.
