Lockheed Martin has delivered the first of Bulgaria’s 16 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, making Bulgaria the second European nation to operate the aircraft. A handover ceremony took place on Jan. 31 in Greenville, South Carolina, where the F-16s were constructed, with Bulgarian Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov and other American and Bulgarian officials in attendance.
Bulgaria initially ordered eight F-16 Block 70s in 2019 and an additional eight in 2022. The aircraft underwent a test flight in October 2024 at the same facility, where a test pilot verified its performance and supersonic capabilities.
Mike Shoemaker, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Fighter Group, said the aircraft will enhance Bulgaria’s regional security and contribute to allied peacekeeping missions. “The F-16 has proven its air dominance time and again, and the Block 70 version will give the Bulgarian Air Force a highly capable, combat-proven aircraft,” he added.
Currently, 23 countries operate the F-16 Block 70 variant, Lockheed Martin’s most advanced fourth-generation fighter aircraft. It features Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, advanced avionics, a modernized cockpit, an improved engine, a 12,000-hour structural service life and the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, which is a key safety feature of the aircraft.
Lockheed Martin has already delivered 23 F-16 Block 70/72 aircraft to international partners and has a backlog of 117 jets. In 2024, Slovakia received the first five of 14 ordered jets, with full delivery expected this year. In the same year, Bahrain received its first F-16 Block 70, becoming the first Gulf Cooperation Council nation to operate the warplane. Earlier in the year, the company told Janes that it had secured an order of 12 units from Jordan.