The first military flight in Europe was carried out by Bulgarian pilots – Radul Milkov and Prodan Tarakchiev. It was a reconnaissance flight on board the German Albatross over the besieged Edirne fortress.
It took place on 16 October, 1912, just days after the start of the first Balkan War, lasted 50 minutes and astounded the Ottoman army. The flight by the two pilots trained in Germany, France and Russia has gone down in the history of the Bulgarian air force. That is the reason why, in 1963, the Council of Ministers issued a decree declaring 16 October day of the Bulgaria’s air force.
The modernization of the Bulgarian air force is ongoing. Under contract with the American Lockheed Martin, Bulgaria purchased 8 F-16 Block 70 fighter aircraft for the sum of over 2 billion Leva.
The first 6 aircraft are to be delivered in this country in 2023. The remaining two will be used in USA for pilot and technical ground staff training up until 2024, after which they too will join the Bulgarian air force.
At the end of September the government announced it was planning to purchase another 8 aircraft to fully modernize Bulgaria’s air force.
Compiled by Yoan Kolev
Researchers from Bulgaria and abroad are gathering in Sofia for a scientific conference. The forum will be held on October 16 and 17 in the building of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the..
The Sofia Zoo has a new resident – an 11-year-old male snow leopard, BNT has reported. He comes from Nordens Ark Zoo, located in Bohuslän, Sweden and is named Araatan. Some time ago, a female leopard arrived from the Helsinki Zoo,..
20 nominees from 11 countries – that is the number of contenders for the “Bulgarian Woman of the Year 2024”, named in honour of Saint Zlata of Meglen . The award has been presented every year since 2009 by the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad..
Sofia is hosting the finals of ER Champ 2025 — described by the organisers as the world’s largest international escape room competition . Taking place on..
More than 500 people from across Bulgaria are gathering today in the village of General Todorov, near Petrich, for the national festival “Once Upon a..
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Clear