The first out of five Spartan transport planes under a contract with the Italian company Alenia Aeronautica would be delivered to Bulgaria on November 5 2007, Air Force head Simeon Simeonov said.

The first planes would arrive in Bulgaria with part of their equipment missing, Simeonov said as quoted by Focus news agency. The equipment would be paid off only when delivered in Bulgaria, he said.

Despite the missing equipping, the planes will be capable of completing their duties.

The sixth of 18 Cougar helicopters contracted with the French company Eurocopter was expected to be delivered soon, Siemonov said.

The first three helicopters delivered had a technical problem, but this had been fixed in the next delivery, he said.

According to Simeonov, Bulgaria wanted to modernise its Mi 24 helicopters. The helicopters needed modernization to meet NATO standards.