Air Force
In the past decade Bulgaria has been trying actively to restructure its army as a whole and a lot of attention has been placed on keeping the aging Russian aircraft operational. Currently the attack and defence branches of the Bulgarian air force are mainly MiG-21s, MiG-29s and Su-25s. About 16 MiG-29 fighters have been modernized in order to meet NATO standards. The first aircraft arrived on 29 November 2007 and final delivery was due in 03/09. In 2006 the Bulgarian government signed a contract with Alenia Aeronautica for the delivery of five C-27J Spartan transport aircraft in order to replace the Soviet made An-24 and An-26, although the contract was later changed to only three aircraft. Modern EU-made transport helicopters were purchased in 2005 and a total of 12 Eurocopter Cougar have been delivered (8 transport and 4 CSAR).
Branches of the airforce include: fighter aviation, assault aviation, intelligence aviation and transportation aviation, aid defence troops, radio-technical troops, communications troops, radio-technical support troops, logistics and medical troops.
The Bulgarian ministry of defense has announced plans to withdraw and replace the MiG-21 fighters with new ones. Several offers were received from international suppliers – the United States (offering F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-18 Super Hornet), Sweden JAS-39 Gripen), Germany (Eurofighter Typhoon), Italy (second-hand Eurofighter Typhoon), Russia (MiG-29) and Israel (IAI Kfir).
Read more about this topic: Military History Of Bulgaria
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