The US offered Bulgaria the purchase of 16 new F-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft. The cost of the project reaches one billion dollars.

If Bulgaria accepts the offer, it will become the second country after the US using this type of aircraft, mediapool.bg reported. The US has not offered such machines abroad yet.

Bulgaria can choose among three offers. The most expensive totals nearly one billion dollars and includes the purchase of 16 new aircraft. Each fighter airplane costs 54 million dollars. The second offer is for the purchase of 12 used F-18 Hornets and 12 used F-5 machines. A third offer includes only 12 used F-18 machines.

Earlier, US defence officials said the country would likely join the procedure for the provision of new fighter airplanes for the Bulgarian army. The US government will carry out talks, which is the usual procedure in such cases.

Such aircraft might likely be purchased by Malaysia, India, Japan and Switzerland apart from Bulgaria.

F-18 Super Hornet is an aircraft for both daily and night-time military missions. The aircraft can fire laser-directed bombs. It has two General Electric engines. By 2012 the US army will use 460 such machines.