Commentary by Milen Keremedchiev and Angel Naydenov
What is the possibility that Bulgaria will take advantage of the opportunity to acquire Dutch F-16 fighters at the expense of MiG-29? Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Milen Keremedchiev and former Minister of Defense Angel Naydenov commented on this topic in the studio of “Your Day” on NOVA NEWS.
“An official offer to Bulgaria has not been made. But according to the latest information, the Netherlands has sold these planes to a private company. There are several circumstances that would help us determine our position in the event that this company becomes part of the chain of providing the aircraft after authorization by the US,” said Naydenov.
According to him, our country already in June turned to the Netherlands asking if they could sell us or lease us used aircraft in order to acquire the so-called transit platform.
“Their service life expires at the end of next year at the latest. We are exploring offers for the acquisition of used aircraft anyway. Why aren’t these used F-16s that the Netherlands would provide?” he asked.
According to Milen Keremedchiev, without the USA we could not talk about any advanced stage of negotiations for the purchase of these planes. “They will have a key decision on whether to approve such a provision of aircraft.” But we are not the only country looking to acquire used F-16s. These are the most sought-after planes at the moment,” he said.
