Bulgaria's Defense Ministry

Bulgaria's Defense Ministry has signed a deal to acquire 10 MiG-29 engines from Russia, officials say.

The contract was signed with a Russian company which will deliver the first two repaired engines by April 30, 2017. Two engines are to be delivered to Bulgaria every month afterwards until all have been received.

Bulgaria's Defense Ministry has said it seek to enter direct talks for the supply of ten engines for MiG-29 fighter jets, Offnews.bg reports.

The development was announced on Tuesday by the ministry itself after a meeting with the single bidder, a company called Aviostart.

The topic of the deployment of US military equipment on Bulgarian territory is exploited by political parties which do not work in our national interest, according to Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.

Mitov assured that US tanks and heavy weaponry would arrive in Bulgaria only for the purpose of trainings.

Information campaigns and cyber attacks carried out on the sidelines of the conflict in Ukraine are an example of a "new type of fighting a war", Bulgaria's Defense Ministry points out in a document.

About 1000 troops are expected at the Novo Selo military ground for the international drills scheduled to begin April 16.

This will follow another major exercise between March 28 and April 15, according to daily Trud newspaper.

General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, will arrive in Bulgaria on Tuesday on an official two-day visit.

During his visit, he will meet with Bulgaria's Deputy Defense Minister Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev and Bulgaria's Chief of Defense, Vice-Admiral Rumen Nikolov.

Pakistan is to make its own proposal to Bulgaria concerning the overhaul of its aircraft fleet, media reports suggest.

Currently the US, Italy and Sweden have been bidding to answer Bulgaria's need to have a squadron of 16 fighter jets replacing the existing one which is made up of Russian-made outdated MiGs.

Bulgaria's Defense Ministry and Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry have not received an official request for stationing tank bases on the territory of the country, according to Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev.

Commenting on allegations of plans to station tank bases in Bulgaria for NATO military trainings, Nenchev assured journalists Wednesday that there was no cause for concern.

Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey and the US are due to take part in NATO's Breeze 2014 naval drills beginning on July 4, Bulgaria's Defense Ministry has announced.

The nine-day-long military exercise is to be held in the Western section of the sea and are aimed at improving the tactical compatibility and collaboration among naval forces of the alliance's member states.

Bulgaria will send its 27th and last military contingent to Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), on June 10.

The official ceremony will take place in the city of Kazanlak and will be attended by the Defense Minister Angel Naydenov, Chief of Defense General Simeon Simeonov and the Permanent Undersecretary of Defense Dobromir Totev.