Bulgaria troubles on F-16V buy, cites cost.

Feel free to discuss anything here - as long as it is F-16 related.
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by sprstdlyscottsmn » 24 Jul 2019, 17:52

https://www.aerotime.aero/clement.charp ... dium=email

"Bulgarian President Roumen Radev vetoed the purchase of 8 F-16V fighter jets that the Parliament had approved last week. Radev estimated that the price of the acquisition, $1.256 billion, was too high."

"The veto of President Radev should not have any consequences on the acquisition except oblige Parliament to ratify the law regarding the contract a second time"

"After launching a tender, it finally settled for eight ... F-16... To do so, it will have to widen the budget deficit by 1.6% of GDP."

1.6% additional budget? That's insane!
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by weasel1962 » 25 Jul 2019, 04:36

President Radev was previously in the BCP (which was later renamed as the BSP) before becoming an independent to contest the presidential elections. He won basically with BSP support but BSP is now in opposition with 80 out of 240 seats.

GERB is the ruling party with 95 seats. Together with VMRO (27 seats) and MRF (26 seats), they should have enough votes (they need 121) to override the veto even though the original bill was only passed with 123 votes.

Radev, being previously an air force commander and a pilot, does have some cogent arguments e.g. the current contract is a scaled down version. But its mainly politics.


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by boilermaker » 26 Jul 2019, 03:32

Didnt they seize a bunch of bitcoins from the mafia amounting to the entire debt of the nation?

Will do bictoin police seizure for f16s!


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by weasel1962 » 26 Jul 2019, 04:05

Will the DoD accept bitcoin payments? They seized 213,000 back in 2017. That's more than enough to pay for the F-16s.


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by basher54321 » 03 Aug 2019, 14:59

The four contracts between Bulgaria and the United States on the $1.25 billion acquisition of eight F-16 fighter jets, as well as amendments Bulgaria’s 2019 Budget Act and an industrial co-operation contract, have been published in the State Gazette.

This means that the deal can go ahead, following the final step in Bulgaria’s legislative process.

President Roumen Radev had vetoed the National Assembly’s ratification of the four contracts, but MPs voted to overturn the veto.

Publication in the State Gazette of the Budget amendments and the ratification of the industrial co-operation contract between Bulgaria’s Economy Ministry and F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin means that Radev has not vetoed them.

It is expected that the first of the batch of F-16s will arrive in Bulgaria in mid-2023, four by the end of 2023 and the remainder in the first quarter of 2024.


https://sofiaglobe.com/2019/07/30/bulgarias-f-16-deal-goes-ahead-as-legislation-gazetted/


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by basher54321 » 03 Apr 2020, 23:23

2nd April 2020 Janes


Lockheed Martin has been awarded USD512 million to deliver eight F-16V Block 70 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft to Bulgaria.

The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract, announced by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 2 April, includes USD4.2 million of unspecified pre-priced options, and will run through to 31 January 2027.

The award, which is understood not to include engines, is part of a total F-16V procurement and support package for Bulgaria that will be valued at approximately USD1.3 billion. As the aircraft are listed as being Block 70 rather than Block 70/72, they will be single-seaters. As such, pilot training will likely take place on US Air Force or other NATO twin-seat aircraft.

With the first F-16V set to enter service in 2023, the Bulgarian Air Force (BuAF) will be in a position to retire its ageing MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum’ fighters, only about four of which are believed to still be serviceable.


https://www.janes.com/article/95314/loc ... jw.twitter



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