LOCAL newspaper Dnevnik reported on August 1 that Bulgaria had requested price and availability information for Boeing-made 16 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, marking the first time a non-American government had officially expressed interest in the fighter jet.
The source of the news was a US navy official who wrote for the news website InsideDefense.com.
The price of the future deal, the largest of 11 projects for the modernisation of Bulgaria’s army approved by the outgoing Government, could reach $1 billion.
The Defence Ministry sent a letter, dated June 30, to the US embassy in Sofia, requesting the information, the official said. The US Navy received the letter in July. While other countries have inquired about the Super Hornet jets, this was the first “letter of request”, Dnevnik said.
The letter also requests price and availability information for 12 used F-5s, which are flown as training aircraft and are no longer in production. Logistics and support information was requested too, InsideDefense.com reported.
The information was confirmed for Dnevnik by Deputy Defence Minister Ilko Dimitrov, who is in charge of modernising Bulgaria’s armed forces.
Bulgaria’s interest in the Super Hornet is especially surprising given that more NATO countries fly F-16s than F/A-18s, Richard Aboulafia, a Teal Group analyst, told InsideDefense.com. Countries interested in the Super Hornet typically fly legacy Hornets or want to develop closer ties to the US Navy, he was quoted as saying, but Bulgaria does not fly Hornets and probably will not see many US warships operating in the Black Sea.
Military experts said that the Super Hornets will likely be deployed by Bulgaria to police the Black Sea region, one of NATO’s external frontiers.
The new multipurpose air fighters for the Bulgarian Air Force should be chosen very carefully and the selection should not be determined in advance, former Air Force commanders Reservist Lieutenant General Stefan Popov and Lieutenant General Dimiter Georgiev told the Bulgarian News Agency BTA on August 1.
According to Georgiev, no decision has been made yet, and the interest in F/A-18 is a part of the standard studies made for any type of fighter jet in which Bulgaria’s Air Force is interested. Bulgaria’s financial capacity to perform aircraft maintenance is also an important issue. 
Lockheed Martin and Sweden’s Gripen are also planning to take part in the tender, but they are delaying lobbying efforts until a new Government is formed. Experts said that the Defence Ministry’s interest towards the Boeing jets has predetermined the outcome of the tender procedure.