There is currently no risk to our national security. This was assured by the Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov at the opening of the academic year 2026/2027 for officers at the Military Academy "G. S. Rakovski", reports BTA.
Regarding the two military aircraft that landed at the airport in Sofia, he called for a calm approach, quoted by news.bg.
Stoyanov explained that the aircraft in question have a diplomatic permit, which is blanket and is given at the end of the year to all allied countries. "They have the right to use our airports, to land temporarily for refueling, for the crew to rest and then take off. This is not something that is just happening. It's just that after the tanker planes were here, much more attention and interest began to be paid to it," he explained.
Two large American military aircraft landed at "Vasil Levski" airport in Sofia at around 7:00 this morning. The Ministry of Defense confirmed to bTV that the aircraft are at the airport under a blanket annual diplomatic permit and their stay is temporary.
The aircraft are Lockheed C-130 - military transport aircraft with four turboprop engines, designed to transport troops and cargo. They are used in over 40 modifications by more than 50 countries.
Earlier this year, a C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft of the US Air Force was also photographed at the civil airport in the capital.
The US Air Force aircraft left the "Bezmer" airbase on August 22. At the time, Stoyanov announced that during their stay, all flights were for training purposes over the territory of allied countries and no missions were carried out in a southerly direction.
According to the Bulgarian authorities, the country has not participated in military operations against Iran and at present there is no evidence of a direct threat to national security. However, the Islamic Republic has made threats to Bulgaria several times due to the presence of the US aircraft.
At the end of July, the National Assembly gave permission, at the proposal of the government, to deploy up to eight US aircraft in our country following an urgent note from the US on July 17. In it, Washington requested the deployment of the aircraft, as well as up to 250 military personnel, in order to logistically support military operations in the Middle East. Ultimately, two aircraft arrived at the "Bezmer" airbase.
The first American aircraft arrived in Bulgaria at the end of February. At that time, Washington's note stated that the aircraft would participate in military exercises. Bulgaria allowed the presence of up to 15 aircraft and up to 500 military personnel with a stay deadline of May 30.
The aircraft were stationed at Sofia airport next to civilian aircraft. The decision for the first aircraft was made on the last day of the "Zhelyazkov" cabinet, and later Prime Minister Radev allowed their stay to be extended until June 30.