BELFAST — The Bulgarian government appears to be nearing an agreement on an interim fighter jet after holding talks with Sweden and France, while the southeastern European nation awaits American F-16s.

The potential acquisition of the jets was prompted by Lockheed Martin when it delayed the delivery of F-16 Block 70 aircraft to Sofia from 2023 to 2025, after COVID-19 provider problems, meaning they won’t work until 2028 or so.

Therefore, Bulgaria requires an “interim” type to replace an aging one MiG-29 fleet it is expected be unusable due to maintenance issues from late 2023 onwards, a spokesperson for the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense (MoD) told Breaking Defense in a statement.

“Until the F-16 reaches full operational capability around 2028-2030, interim fighters will need to be used to perform the air policing mission in Bulgaria’s airspace,” the spokesman explained.

The interim acquisition of fighter jets began with Bulgaria sending letters to the United States, Sweden, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, detailing the possibility off leasing used aircraft. The Netherlands, Spain and Italy have all since confirmed they cannot fulfill the request, according to Bulgarian MoD spokesman. The spokesman did not say how the US responded, and a State Department representative said it does not comment on “potential/ongoing arms transfers.”

“Sweden and France have responded positively to our request,” the spokesperson said. – We have started talks with [both]… to explore the possibilities for [the] interim acquisition of fighter planes. We haven’t received any offers yet.”

Sweden could offer the Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D aircraft with France in a position to either deploy its Mirage 2000 or Rafale jets. Both the Swedish and French governments have not responded to requests for comment.

In an effort to resolve the MiG-29 maintenance issues, Bulgaria has also held discussions with Polandas the latter also operates the aircraft and could offer a way forward for Bulgaria to potentially service its fleet beyond 2023.

A first installment of eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets was agreed between Bulgaria and the United States in 2019 with a second installment of eight approved by the Authority for Defense Security Cooperation in April 2022. Bulgaria’s National Assembly approved “stage 2” of the investment spending plan for the second part “earlier in November,” the ministry spokesman confirmed. Last month the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The F-16s “will provide Bulgaria with a fleet of modern multirole combat aircraft, support Bulgaria’s ability to defend its airspace, strengthen regional security, and improve the Bulgarian Air Force’s interoperability with the United States and NATO.”

Lockheed initially revealed supplier covid-19 issues on the F-16 Block 70 program in November 2021, two years after Bulgaria ordered the jet, admitting the main source of the disruption was linked to a “major subassembly of the aircraft”, without identifying the foreign supplier. Those problems now appear to be behind the manufacturer, as it plans to “significantly” increase production of the fighter jet in 2023, according to a Lockheed spokesman.

Assembly of Bulgaria’s first F-16 Block 70 has started at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, SC, production facility, along with other models on order to Bahrain and Slovakia, the spokesman said.

“The first F-16 Block 70 jet has completed the Final Assembly & Checkout (FACO) and painting phases [and]… is now preparing for its first flight, which we anticipate will take place early next year.”

The spokesman also outlined how plans are coming together to work with Bulgaria once its jets are finally delivered.

“Today, Bulgaria is building the necessary infrastructure, training pilots and developing maintenance personnel to support F-16 operations when the jets arrive in the country,” the spokesperson told Breaking Defense, referring to the Eastern European nation’s planned “robust industrial participation package.” “In fact, Bulgarian pilots have already been to the United States in recent years for training.”

The NATO interoperable aircraft has a range of key features and technologies including Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a “modernized” cockpit, conformal fuel tanks and an extended service life of 12,000 hours, according to the manufacturer.

It also estimates that “almost” 700 F-16s are currently operational in Europe.

The recapitalization of Bulgaria’s navy comes as it tries to move on from political conflict over whether to supply arms to Ukraine – a fierce debate that almost led to the collapse of the coalition government.

A compromise to help repair Ukrainian military equipment was initially agreed, but Bulgarian lawmakers were reported to have approved a “first military aid shipment” to Kyiv on November 3, according to Bloomberg. Such a move will be welcomed by Ukraine but is unlikely to fully restore Bulgaria’s damaged image on the international stage.