The debate about protecting the Bulgarian sky with the MiG-29 is groundless and unfounded. The more aircraft there are to protect the state, the more protected the state is. This was stated in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio by the commander of the Third Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Colonel Metodi Orlov, regarding the debate that has begun about the future of our fighter aviation in the transitional moment before the end of the MiG-29's service life and before the start of the use of the F-16.
"This debate from a military point of view is groundless and unfounded, because the more aircraft for the defense of the state we have and can raise, the more protected the state is. And what type of aircraft it will be - whether it will be this one or the other - does not give us any advantage at all.
"The money that we will potentially give for the MiG-29 is a negligible amount compared to the money that we will have to give anyway for the maintenance of any future aviation equipment", he believes.
According to him, the MiG-29 manufacturer's instructions say that it can be operated until 2029 - 2030.
According to him, we must do absolutely everything possible to maintain the MiG-29 until the end of its prescribed life cycle. However, according to him, it is not so easy to maintain the aircraft.
"Our main advantage for the operation of the MiG-29 is that our people, our engineering and technical staff, have mastered the aircraft very well. At the moment, I am dealing with its maintenance".
In the future, funds will be needed for the maintenance of F-16 aircraft and their provision, noted Metodi Orlov.
From a military point of view, we are obliged to provide all possible means of protecting the state, to keep them in fairly good condition so that the tasks can be carried out. One aircraft helps significantly in the commissioning of the new aircraft.
A plane is not a car - you pick it up, start it, get in and drive. Even tactics, techniques and procedures must be developed - how to use it in the most effective and best way.
We need this time just for the F-16 aircraft. It is no coincidence that all the countries around give a reasonable period for the introduction of each new weapon system into service.
At the moment in Graf Ignatievo, the people associated with the F-16 aircraft are terribly busy, and the MiG-29 aircraft gives them exactly this opportunity - to work and deal only with the mastering of the aircraft. The aircraft is really very serious, with many systems. The point is that each system, in order to start using it effectively by the composition, takes time," he explained in the program "Above All".