Bulgaria's Defence Council to Meet over Proposed Acquisition of New Warplane

The defence council to Bulgaria's defence ministry is expected to meet on Tuesday to review the draft project for acquisition of a new warplane for the needs of the country's air force.

This was announced by Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev during a press conference on Monday.

Nenchev added that the budgetary framework foresees expenditures on the aircraft amounting to BGN 80 M and three producers have been contacted.

The defence minister said that BGN 80 M are foreseen for the first installment for the multi-purpose aircraft and the same amount is foreseen for the multi-functional patrol ship for the needs of the navy.

During a meeting between Nenchev and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov at the end of last week, the latter reaffirmed the intentions of the government for both projects.

The procedures will start once the draft projects have been approved by the government and parliament.

The bilateral consultations on concluding a contract on provision of fully integrated logistical support for the MiG-29 fighter jets have reached an advanced stage.

Completion of the project for acquisition of a new armoured fighting vehicle for the needs of the land forces is forthcoming.