The capabilities of Bulgaria’s and Slovakia’s air forces will soon be significantly enhanced, as the two NATO member nations are set to receive the final deliveries of the F-16 Block 70 fighters from aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. Those aircraft were manufactured at the firm’s Greenville, South Carolina, facility under a United States Foreign Military Sales contract.

On Wednesday, Lockheed Martin announced it had completed production of the batch of F-16 Fighting Falcons for the two nations, with deliveries scheduled for early 2026. It will allow Bulgaria and Slovakia to continue modernizing their respective fleets of combat aircraft. Both former Communist Bloc countries are retiring their aging Soviet-era Mikoyan MiG-29s (NATO reporting name “Fulcrum”) and aligning their respective air forces with NATO standards.

The F-16’s “common framework” will improve readiness and strengthen “the alliance’s posture” while increasing “the number of interoperable aircraft available for NATO missions,”

© The National Interest