None of the possible versions why the first Bulgarian F-16 fighter cannot fly has been ruled out. A version of possible sabotage also exists. This was what Gen. Spas Spasov, a former military pilot and chairman of the “Bulgarian Air Force” Foundation has told the BNR. We do not know whether this is a manufacturing defect, or the fault lies with those who operate the jet at the Third Air Base, Gen. Spasov pointed out.

The commander of the Bulgarian Air Force, Gen. Nikolay Rusev, announced that the Bulgarian F-16 cannot fly at the moment due to a deviation in one of the aircraft's systems. The problem became known after a sharp exchange of remarks between GERB leader Boyko Borissov and President Rumen Radev.

The co-chair of the Atlantic Council in Bulgaria, Ivan Anchev, said that probably after the plane flew 9,000 km there were attempts to copy the F-16 software in Bulgaria and it blocked itself.

• Bulgaria’s President gets into a dispute with the leader of GERB over new F-16 jets