A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum in flight over Sofia, circa October 2014. Bulgaria planned to replace its MiG aircraft with modern F-16s, but Lockheed Martin has failed to deliver them on time. (Shutterstock/Anna Yordanova)

Bulgaria’s F-16 Fighter Jets Will Be Three Years Late. Now What?

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Facing a multi-year delay in delivery of its F-16s, Bulgaria is considering buying secondhand interim aircraft—and doing its best to keep its existing Soviet-era jets aloft.

NATO member Bulgaria is now facing delays with deliveries of its American-made Block 70 F-16 Fighting Falcons. The southeastern European nation had ordered two batches of eight Fighting Falcons, the first in 2019 and the second in 2022. Aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin has already delivered the first batch, but the second batch won’t begin to arrive in Bulgaria until at least the second quarter of 2030—nearly three years later than the previously planned 2027 handover date.

Lockheed Martin has stated that production delays are at issue and is working to accelerate the manufacture of the multirole aircraft, The Sofia Globe reported. While Bulgarian officials are understandably unhappy, there are no indications that they intend to cancel or........

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