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An F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares to land on
the flight deck aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. (MC3
Alex Corona/U.S. Navy)
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WARSAW, Poland — Bulgaria will request an offer from
Boeing for its F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft as the country aims to select a new
fighter jet by the end of July 2018, according to the country’s defense
minister.
Krasimir Karakachanov told state-run radio broadcaster
BNR that the Ministry of Defence is seeking the offer in addition to the three
main competitors for the deal — Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen
and the Eurofighter Typhoon. He said requests for proposals are expected to be
sent to manufacturers this month.
Interest in the Super Hornet indicates that a new major
competitor could join the Bulgarian tender, under which the country is aiming
to replace its Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-29 aircraft with Western-made
fighters. The planned contract is estimated to be worth some 1.5 billion levs
(U.S. $890.9 million).
In late October, Karakachanov said the ministry will
relaunch its tender to purchase eight aircraft after a special committee of the
Bulgarian parliament released a report calling on the Cabinet to relaunch the
tender. The move scrapped the recommendation of a ministerial expert group that
ranked the Gripen as its top choice.
Following this, Bulgaria was to request new proposals
from Portugal, which offered secondhand F-16s, and from Italy, which offered
its Eurofighter Typhoons. Should the ministry decide to select the Super
Hornet, the country would become the aircraft’s first operator in Eastern
Europe.
Original post: defensenews.com
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