Mikoyan

Bulgaria probably used to pay twice the normal price for the maintenance contracts it had with Russian company RSK MiG to repair fighter jets from its military aircraft fleet, Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said.

In an interview with private national NOVA TV channel, Nenchev suggested the money might have been used either for "political purposes" or "hybrid warfare".

Poland has no license or documentation whatsoever to repair MiG aircraft, the head of the original equipment manufacturer has reportedly warned.

The repair of the MiG-29 fighter jets by Poland will be twice cheaper than the cost, which would have been incurred if the maintenance was carried out by the the Russian MiG company.

Nenchev revealed that a price, which is 20-30% lower than the one requested by the Russian company, was negotiated with Poland.

Six Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets will have their engines overhauled in Poland under an intergovernmental letter of intent signed in Sofia on Friday.

Poland's Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak arrives in Bulgaria Friday at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Nikolay Nenchev.

The two defense ministers will sign a letter of intent on military and technical cooperation, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Bulgaria's government approved on Wednesday a draft agreement on defence cooperation with Poland, moving a step closer to a deal for the repair of Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets by Polish military aircraft works.

The Bulgarian government will decide at its regular meeting on Wednesday whether to approve the contract devised by the Defence Ministry on the repair of the engines of MiG-29 fighter jets by Poland.

The contract, which is entitled "draft decision for approval of a draft agreement between Bulgaria and Poland for cooperation in the military area", comes tenth on the agenda.

Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev said on Thursday that nine of the country's nineteen MiG-29 fighter jets need repair.

Nenchev added that progress was being made towards the signing of the maintenance contract with Poland, where the engines are to be repaired.

The Bulgarian cabinet approved on Wednesday the country's participation in negotiations for the purchase of new fighter jets.

This was announced by Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev after the government granted him mandate to head negotiations with Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece.

Bulgaria will kickstart an acquisition process for a new multipurpose combat aircraft by the end of next month, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said.

The Defence Ministry will submit the respective proposal to the government by 30 June, BGNES news outlet quoted Nenchev as saying on Thursday following a meeting of the parliament's defence committee.