Members of the parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Investment and Industry approved on first reading a bill ratifying an agreement with the American company Lockheed Martin Global INC. The Council of Ministers submitted the amendment on September 11 — Amendment No. 1 to the Framework Agreement on the Industrial Cooperation Program related to the F-16 Block 70 fighter jets.
The new bill opens the way for Bulgaria to build domestic capacity to repair generators for these aircraft. The technology involved is complex, and today only a handful of European Union countries possess it. According to the bill's sponsors, the legislation will allow the country to independently maintain the fighter jets' generators throughout their entire service life, without outside involvement.
The bill was presented to lawmakers by Deputy Economy, Investment and Industry Minister Mihaela Karadimova. She explained that the original Agreement dates back to July 2019 and includes a total of six separate industrial cooperation projects. Five of them — the first, second, third, fifth and sixth — are already underway successfully, with the first three handled by the state-owned company Avionams AD, she noted.
The amendment stems from the fourth project, which had envisioned the delivery of a logistics support and supply chain management system for the F-16 Block 70. According to Karadimova, that system no longer meets the needs of the Ministry of Defense, so the government is replacing it with a new project focused on building capacity to repair the generators. Avionams will take on this task as well.
Karadimova listed the benefits the new assignment would bring to the company:
- expansion of the industrial capacity already built;
- cost savings;
- transfer of know-how and technology;
- a broader portfolio and new jobs;
- high added value for the economy.
Karadimova said similar repair capabilities within the EU exist only in Poland.
She added that the project guarantees independent national maintenance of the generators throughout their 30-year service life. "The expected effect is greater independence, faster response times and higher efficiency compared with having to transport the equipment to another country, as well as improved security of supply," she told lawmakers.
In late May, the government approved a change to one of the projects under the Framework Agreement between the Republic of Bulgaria and Lockheed Martin Global INC and authorized the Minister of Economy and Industry, together with the Minister of Innovation and Growth, to sign Amendment No. 1 — pending later ratification by parliament. In early June, Bulgaria officially signed the document during the HEMUS 2026 international defense exhibition in Plovdiv.
The original Framework Agreement was signed on July 11 in Washington, and a day later — on July 12 — in Sofia, in 2019.
A scheduled question-and-answer session with Economy, Investment and Industry Minister Alexander Pulev, planned for today, did not take place because he had an urgent commitment. On his behalf, Deputy Minister Karadimova apologized to lawmakers for his absence.