Bulgaria receives 4 F-35 warplanes from Netherlands

Sofia, Bulgaria: Balkan nation and NATO ally – Bulgaria received four (4) F-35 warplanes from the government of the Netherlands, as per the information shared by the country’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. These warplanes have been delivered to Bulgaria to support its air-policing tasks following the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.  

These warplanes will be safeguarding the airspace of the black sea country till May 31, 2022, which is a part of NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) for air and anti-missile defence, replacing the four aeroplanes of Spain, who, for the present time are taking care of the airspace surveillance of Bulgaria since the middle of February. 

In addition to this, earlier this week, the Bulgarian government provided confirmation of buying eight F-16 combat aircrafts worth the amount of $1.67 billion from the United States of America, with the aim to strengthen the air defence of the European country. 

On the purchase, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency cited in its statement, “The proposed sale would improve the ability of Bulgaria to meet the present as well as future threats by enabling the Bulgarian Air Force to deploy modern fighter aircraft routinely in the region of the Black sea.” 

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of NATO – Jens Stoltenberg, recently speaking, appreciated the efforts of the Balkan state and highlighted that the contribution of Bulgaria remained very significant in the past few years to NATO. 

Meanwhile, the United States administration has warned China against sanctions if it supports Russia in its invasion decision of Ukraine and adds that it might face severe consequences. The statement was issued by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Wednesday, April 6. 

She stated, “It gives President Xi, I think, a pretty good understanding of what might come his way should he, in fact, support Putin in any material fashion.”