The Bulgarian Military will buy 6 Refurbished MiG-29 Engines for 26.4 million Leva

The Ministry of Defense has issued a public order for the purchase of six refurbished engines for MiG-29 fighters. For the delivery of the engines, the military department has set aside BGN 26.4 million including VAT, according to a reference in the portal for public procurement.

The engines must be delivered no later than 12 months after the signing of the contract. The flight life of the Bulgarian MiG-29s expires in the middle of the year, but nevertheless the military intends to continue using them until the end of the year. However, even if the public order for the repaired engines is fulfilled in a shorter period of time than one year, there will be a period in which the Bulgarian airspace will not be able to be protected by the Bulgarian Air Force.

So far, it is not known from where the engines can be delivered, writes "Mediapool" and adds that, according to data from the Ministry of Defense, talks have been held with Poland, another NATO country, as well as with an Asian country. Months ago, the defense department was counting on getting engines from Poland, but that clearly won't happen, especially since Warsaw as well as Slovakia have announced that they are ready to provide their MiGs to Ukraine.

Acting Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov had explained about three weeks ago that one MiG-29 engine from Poland had been evaluated and there was no problem to deliver it to Bulgaria. In January, Stoyanov assured that two MiG-29 engines would arrive from Poland by the end of the month. The second engine needed further evaluation, he clarified, adding that there was one more engine that was at the Graf Ignatievo Air Base, and one plane could be prepared.

Stoyanov announced on February 22 that he is again in talks with France, Sweden...