The Engines of Bulgarian MiG-29 Fighters will be Repaired in Ukraine

90% of the repair of 6 MiG-29 engines of the Bulgarian Air Force will be carried out at the Lutsk Repair Plant "Motor" in Ukraine. This became clear from the decision to select a public order contractor of the Ministry of Defense, made on June 16.

Since one MiG-29 fighter has two engines, this means that the engines of three fighters will be repaired. Bulgaria relies only on the Soviet-made MiG-29s to protect its airspace. Their support is impossible after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

In February, Acting Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said that the probability that Bulgaria will stop performing combat duty to protect its airspace is high.

The official repair contractor will be "TEREM - Holding" Ltd., which is owned by the Ministry of Defense. The Ukrainian plant "Motor" is a subcontractor. TEREM's offer is for nearly 15.5 million leva without duty and VAT.

The company was selected because its offer was significantly lower than the second company invited to participate in the tender. This was the Polish state-owned company Wojskowe Zakłady Lotnicze Nr2 S.A. The lowest price that was agreed with the Polish company is 18.68 million leva without duty and VAT.

From the report of the commission that made the decision, it is also understood that the engines will be repaired in Ukraine and transported by land. The repair will take up to 8 and a half months. The warranty will be 100 flight hours or 12 months. The remaining inter-repair service life of the engines will be no less than 7 and a half years.

The cabinet, appointed by President Rumen Radev, announced another public order for the supply of 6 refurbished engines for the MiG-29, which would leave 3 more fighters in the air. It has an estimated value of BGN...