Bulgaria and the USA have made changes to the contract for the acquisition of the first batch of 8 F-16 fighters. This new contract was signed on January 31, 2024 in Ohio, USA, and on April 12, 2024 in Sofia, on the Bulgarian side, by former Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev. To enter into force, it must be ratified by Parliament. This is clear from a letter from the Council of Ministers to the Parliament. In it, acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev asks the deputies to ratify the new contract.
The draft Law submitted by the Council of Ministers for the ratification of an international agreement to amend and supplement the agreement for the purchase of F-16 Block 70 aircraft under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program has been published on the parliament’s website. In the draft, it is explicitly stated that “the ratified international treaty shall not be promulgated in the State Gazette”, i.e. to remain hidden from society.
In the reasons for the amendment of the contract, which must be voted on by the deputies, it is written:
The International Agreement (LOA) BU-D-SAB F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support (F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support) under the terms of the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program has been signed by the Minister of Defense on July 11, 2019 and was ratified by a law passed by the 44th National Assembly on July 26, 2019. The ratification law was promulgated in the “State Gazette”, number 60 of 2019.
After evaluating new opportunities to improve the performance of the contract, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Bulgaria requested that more significant changes be made to the content of the signed contract. The resulting draft International Agreement for Amendment and Addendum No. 2 International Agreement of Agreement (LOA) BU-D-SAB F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support (F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support) under the US program for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) reflects minimal changes made by the US side, the nature of which does not require written consent from our side, and more significant changes to the content of the contract approved by us.
The Draft International Agreement for Amendment and Addendum No. 2 to LOA BU-D-SAB has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the US military sales law and reflects the practice of making changes to international agreements specified in the LOA Standard Terms and Conditions ).
On the basis of Minutes No. 12 of a meeting of the Council of Ministers on April 1, 2024, the Minister of Defense signed the international agreement on Amendment and Addendum No. 2 to the International Agreement (LOA) BU-D-SAB “Aircraft F-16 Block 70 and related to their support” (F-16 Block 70 aircraft and associated support) under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, subject to subsequent ratification, with the following statement: “This contract shall become effective on the date of notification to the Government of the United States of America for the implementation of the Bulgarian internal legal procedures upon its entry into force.”
The signed contract for Amendment and Addendum No. 2 does not increase the value of the BU-D-SAB international contract signed in 2019 and does not require additional contributions to the amount already paid in advance by us. The main contract changes for Amendment and Addendum No. 2 to (LOA) BU-D-SAB can be grouped as follows:
Correct timelines for the provision of relevant components and/or products and confirm related explanatory notes arising from contracts awarded by the US Air Force to relevant suppliers.
Reduction or increase of values of different lines under the contract in order to ensure adequate financing of the activities, as well as redirection of funds on newly created lines.
Change of suppliers of defense products and services from those specified in the request letter for the preparation of the draft contract BU-D-SAB (27.03.2019) due to technological or market changes.
Closing some of the lines due to a lost need or due to the creation of new ones, which does not lead to a reduction in potential capabilities.
Eleven new lines have been added, financed by pledged funds on the respective lines or by redirection of funds from other lines of the contract (existing or deleted).
Additional lines have been added to reflect specific FMS program requirements that have arisen.
The signed international agreement for Amendment and Addendum No. 2 to the LOA LOA BU-D-SAB does not reduce or narrow the requirements for the capabilities of the F-16 Block 70 weapon system stated by the Bulgarian side and provides opportunities for optimizing supplies from the US side.
The signed International Agreement for Amendment and Addendum No. 2 to LOA BU-D-SAB contains “Controlled Unclassified Information-CUI” that should not be made public by analogy with the main agreement signed in 2019. This excludes and the possibility of its publication in the State Gazette. Given the need to guarantee confidentiality in this regard, it is proposed in Art. 2 of the draft law for the National Assembly to order the international treaty on Amendment and Addendum No. 2 to LOA BU-D-SAB not to be promulgated. Such a possibility is provided for in Art. 25, para. 2 of the Law on International Treaties of the Republic of Bulgaria, according to which the authority that gives consent to bind Bulgaria to an international treaty may, in the act of binding, order that it not be promulgated.
According to information from the American side, immediately after the entry into force of the law on the international treaty for Amendment and Supplement No. 2 to LOA BU-D-SAB “F-16 Block 70 aircraft and related support” for Bulgaria, work will begin on the preparation of the following amendments and additions to this and other FMS contracts.
The deadline for signing the proposed BU-D-SAB A2 and informing the American side about the implementation of the Bulgarian procedures for its entry into force expires on April 18, 2024.
The FMS program establishes a standard term of 2 months for signing contracts and additions and amendments thereto. Given the requirements of the Law on International Treaties of the Republic of Bulgaria, compliance with this deadline is practically impossible. Therefore, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Bulgaria has requested an extension of the validity period by 60 days until July 17, 2024 and is awaiting confirmation from the American side. This additional extension of the period for entry into force under Bulgarian legislation in certain situations may lead to negative financial consequences (increase in the prices of products and/or services), delays in the implementation process and ultimately a change in the terms of delivery of the aircraft and their effective maintenance and use,” reads the reasons for the proposal to ratify the changes to the treaty.
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