NATO MUltimedia

Seven US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jets are helping Bulgaria police Alliance airspace in and around the Black Sea region.

Seven US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon jets are used to help Bulgaria police Alliance airspace in and around the Black Sea region.

The multirole fighters, based at Aviano Air Base in Italy, are flying training missions and patrols alongside Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets in early autumn 2020. As the pilots acquaint themselves with each other and their nations’ operating procedures, they improve their ability to keep the skies safe in the region as part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission. Pilots and aircrew practised social distancing on and off the air base in accordance to COVID-19 prevention measures.

Allied fighters first deployed to Bulgaria in 2016, when the US Air Force sent F-15 Eagle fighters to Graf Ignatievo Air Base, near Plovdiv. In 2017, the Italian Air Force deployed Eurofighters to fly alongside the Bulgarian MiGs.

Footage includes shots of Bulgarian and US fighters prepping for missions, taking off and returning to the air base, GoPro shots of a mixed-fighter air policing formation from a previous air policing mission as well as interviews with Bulgarian and US pilots.

1. (00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS –BULGARIAN AND US PILOTS WATCH A BULGARIAN AIR FORCE L-39 FIGHTER TRAINER LANDING
2. (00:03) VARIOUS SHOTS – US PILOTS PREPARING FOR A MISSION
3. (00:19) MEDIUM SHOT – VAPOR TRAILS ENTERING US F-16 FIGHTING FALCON JET INTAKES
4. (00:24) MEDIUM SHOT – US F-16 TAXIING
5. (00:33) VARIOUS SHOTS – US F-16s TAKING OFF
6. (00:52) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN FIGHTER PILOTS PREPARING FOR A MISSION
7. (01:02) CLOSE-UP – PATCH READING “IN THRUST WE TRUST” ON BULGARIAN UNIFORM
8. (01:06) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN MiG-29 FULCRUM JET BEING TOWED TO THE FLIGHT LINE
9. (01:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN PILOTS PREPARING TO BOARD JETS
10. (01:21) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN PILOTS AND AIRCREW PREPARING MiG-29s FOR MISSION
11. (01:59) MEDIUM SHOT – US F-16 PASSES BULGARIAN MiG-29 ON FLIGHT LINE
12. (02:05) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN MiG-29s TAXIING AND TAKING OFF
13. (02:45) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN MiG-29s LANDING
14. (02:55) MEDIUM SHOT – BULGARIAN L-39 LANDING
15. (02:58) MEDIUM SHOT – BULGARIAN MiG-29 PASSING BEHIND L-39
16. (03:02) VARIOUS SHOTS – MiG-29 PARKING
17. (03:19) MEDIUM SHOT – US F-16 PERFORMING HIGH-SPEED FLY-BY
18. (03:28) VARIOUS SHOTS – F-16s RETURNING AND PARKING
19. (03:56) VARIOUS GOPRO SHOTS – BULGARIAN MiG-29s FLYING IN CLOSE FORMATION
20. (04:08) 360 VIDEO – BULGARIAN MiG-29 MANOEUVRING
21. (04:24) GOPRO SHOT – BULGARIAN MiG-29s FLYING WITH ITALIAN EUROFIGHTERS FROM EARLIER AIR POLICING MISSION
22. (04:33) SOUNDBITE (BULGARIAN) – CAPTAIN JORDAN TONEV, MiG-29 PILOT, BULGARIAN AIR FORCE

“The primary mission of 3rd Air Base Graf Ignatievo is to carryout air policing. We’ve been performing this kind of duty since 1951. From 2004, we’ve been part of NATO’s Air Policing mission. As part of NATO’s Quick Reaction Alert, I’m very proud to be protecting our sky, but also our Allied skies. In the foreseeable future, the Bulgarian Air Force will operate with the F-16 Block 70, which will give a new, younger generation of pilots the necessary tools to apply newer, more efficient tactics.”

1. (05:11) SOUNDBITE (BULGARIAN) – CAPTAIN JORDAN TONEV, MiG-29 PILOT, BULGARIAN AIR FORCE

“Flying together with our colleagues of the US Air Force increases our interoperability, improves us as pilots, and we gained experience that we will apply when flying the F-16 Block 70.”

1. (05:26) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LIEUTENANT COLONEL BRIAN LEWIS, 555TH FIGHTER SQUADRON, US AIR FORCE

“We have seven jets here, so we have jets sitting alert for QRA [Quick Reaction Alert], getting taskings from CAOC [Combined Air Operations Centre] Torrejon, and we have other jets here executing training missions with our Allies from Romania, Greece, Canada and Bulgaria.”

1. (05:40) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LIEUTENANT COLONEL BRIAN LEWIS, 555TH FIGHTER SQUADRON, US AIR FORCE

“It’s been great. It’s good to fly with different countries’ pilots. It’s great to fly with MiG-29s and F-16s, and it’s just the experience for all our pilots to get to do that.”