The Bulgarian Air Force is undertaking a large-scale modernization of its firefighting air fleet by introducing modern "Spartan" aircraft with innovative technological capabilities. Brigadier General Dimitar Georgiev, Deputy Commander of the Air Force, revealed details about the ambitious plan during a special press conference at the G. S. Rakovski Military Academy.
A key element of the strategy is acquiring two to three new "Spartan" aircraft, with each costing approximately 75 million euros. The new generation of aircraft is equipped with a modern firefighting module that allows extremely effective handling of forest fires.
The technical characteristics of the aircraft are impressive – they can load up to eight tons of water in about 90 minutes, with refueling taking no more than eight minutes at any airport. This capacity represents a significant improvement over the previous capabilities of the Bulgarian armed forces.
Parallel to acquiring the aircraft, the military leadership is also maintaining a helicopter fleet for firefighting. Currently, they have three helicopters on operational readiness, with a fourth expected to be prepared within two to three days.
A challenge for the teams is strict adherence to technical inspection requirements mandated by manufacturers. The number of available aircraft varies precisely due to the need for such precise technical inspections.
An additional complication is the delay in the delivery of two helicopters, which were initially supposed to arrive by the end of June but, according to current information, will be delivered in October and December due to a lack of key components.
An agreement for implementing the aerial firefighting system was signed in June 2022. Currently, the system is being operated under extremely strict limitations. In parallel with technical equipment, crew training is also being conducted in Italy, which requires a significant time resource.