Posted on 10/24/2017 9:06:29 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Some Bulgarian air force pilots have refused to fly their Soviet-built MiG-29 jets in planned training exercises, citing safety concerns with the outdated aircraft.
"Some of the pilots from Graf Ignatievo air base will not perform training flights because of insecurity," Bulgarian Deputy Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov said on October 24.
The pilots have also cited concerns about poor preparedness due to a lack of flying hours, Zapryanov said, but he insisted that the jets are fully airworthy.
Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004, but much of its military equipment is still Russian-made. Out of a fleet of 16, Bulgaria's air force currently has just seven aging MiG-29 aircraft in good flying order.
The Balkan country has launched a 770-million-euro tender to replace them with eight new fighter jets.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's conservative government has been fighting President Rumen Radev - a former fighter pilot - and opposition Socialists since May over the purchase of the new aircraft.
At one point, an interim government appointed by Radev decided that Bulgaria would buy Swedish-made Gripen jets. But a parliamentary committee in June vetoed that, and instead asked for proposals to buy Portugal's secondhand U.S. F-16 jets and Eurofighter Typhoons.
Defense Minister Krasimir Karakadzhanow accused the boycotting pilots of starting a politically-motivated campaign. He insisted that Bulgaria will renovate all its MiG-29s and about 20 Russian-made Su-25 bombers.
The ministry recently received four new MiG-29 engines and six used ones in a
(Excerpt) Read more at rferl.org ...
This is an interesting twist. Bulgaria is anti-flood of Immigrants. Now they might be in the market for new military equipment. This could be a problem for them.
India is unhappy about Russian service of its Mig29s. This is not new.
With the coming glut of used F-16s on the market, Bulgaria could soon get a good deal
There’s a long list of grumpy 29 customers; Algeria and Malaysia are also on the list. Algeria returned a batch of 29s as soon as it got them.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/algeria-returns-faulty-mig-29s-221771/
Well maybe they can get a written guarantee that the Ejection Seats works?
Heck, with some training, I might be talked into giving one a whirl around the block.
"He died doing what he loved..."
Looks fun! WHEEEE!
It’s a failed knockoff of the F-15. It’s a good looking bird, too bad it hates flying.
Phrases that do not usually reside in the same sentence:
Russian Quality Assurance
Russian Precision Engineering
Russian Continuous Improvement Initiatives
I see rust on that airplane : )
Is that bondo on the leading edge of the wing?
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