January 30, 2025 (by Lieven Dewitte) - Bulgaria’s Defense Minister, Atanas Zapryanov, is set to visit the United States for three days, where he will attend the formal handover of Bulgaria’s first F-16 Block 70 fighter jet (311). The event will take place on January 31, 2025, at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Greenville, South Carolina.
The ceremony will bring together key officials from Lockheed Martin, members of the U.S. Congress, representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force, as well as local leaders from South Carolina.

This aircraft marks the first of 16 new F-16 Block 70 jets Bulgaria is acquiring under agreements signed in 2019 and 2022. The first two jets are expected to arrive in Bulgaria by April 2025.

This aircraft took to the skies for a first successful test flight on 22 October 2024.

As part of his visit, Zapryanov will receive a briefing from Lockheed Martin’s leadership on the production capabilities at the Greenville site. He will also meet with Bulgarian Air Force personnel currently undergoing training in the U.S., as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force overseeing the aircraft’s delivery.