Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defense has requested Sweden, France, Israel, the Netherlands and the United States to submit an offer for the lease or purchase of fighter aircraft. Meetings have already been held with delegations from Sweden and France.

President Rumen Radev, who attended the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague, commented that Bulgaria cannot give up guarding its own sky until the arrival of the U.S. F-16 fighter aircraft.

"Bulgaria is looking for the best solution in terms of capability and cost“, said President Radev adding that the second-hand fighter jets are being sought not from companies, but from the defense ministries of these countries.