Bulgaria to spend more than 1 billion dollars on fighter jets

Sofia (dpa) - Bulgaria has earmarked 900 million euros (1.043 billion dollars) to purchase fighter jets for its air force and was to decide this month between four bidders, a statement by the Defence Ministry in Sofia said Tuesday.The Bulgarian government is to decide between new F-16 and F-18 models from the United States, new Gripen jets from Sweden or used Eurofighters from Italy. Details of the bid were not revealed.Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov told bTV that Bulgaria prefers new aircraft and it is estimated that the jets offered by the United States are the most likely option.He said that a workgroup would present a report on the bids by October 18 and that negotiations would begin after that.Bulgaria, a member of the now defunct communist eastern bloc, has been a NATO member since 2004, but still largely operates Russian-made equipment.Sofia has increased its defence spending under pressure from NATO allies and aims to use 3-4 billion leva (1.8-2.3 billion dollars) for new army, navy and air force equipment.The range is about 1.5 per cent of Bulgaria‘s gross domestic product.