Poland to repair 6 engines of Bulgaria's MiG-29 fighter

Bulgarian government approved on Wednesday a draft intergovernmental agreement on the repair of six engines of the country's MiG-29 aircraft in Poland, and authorized Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev to sign it, officials said.

The repair would cost 1.023 million euros (some 1.151 million U.S. dollars) per engine, the Defense Ministry said in a press release.

In addition, Bulgaria would receive two Polish MiG-29 engines for temporary use for a period of two years, the ministry said.

In the process of preparing the agreement, the ministry has explored in the European Union and NATO the opportunities for conducting integrated logistics support of the twin-engine jet fighter aircraft, the press release said.

"It was found that Poland is the only country within the outlined circle, which has the ability to maintain and repair MiG-29 aircraft," the press release said.

As a NATO member state, Bulgaria needed to have at its disposal at least one combat squadron of 12 aircraft, while at present, the Bulgarian Air Force operated four MiG-29 fighters in working order, with remaining service life, the ministry recently said.

After mid-2016, the Air Force might be left with only two operable aircraft in good working order, and to avoid this, Bulgaria needed to find a way to overhaul the engines of the MiG-29s, it said. Endit