Sofia Seeks Polish MiG Lifeline

Only six of Bulgaria's fifteen MiG-29 fighters were recently fit to fly (BNR News). That is the number behind Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev's meeting, on the margins of the NATO summit in Ankara, with representatives of WZL-2, Poland's state military aviation repair facility in Bydgoszcz (Fakti, Defence24). Sofia needs to keep the Soviet-era jets flying until its ordered F-16 Block 70s arrive. That may not happen before 2030.

The Bydgoszcz lifeline

WZL-2 has serviced Bulgarian MiG-29 engines in recent years, after building its own supply of parts once Russian maintenance channels became politically unusable (24 Chasa). An engine-overhaul tender worth more than €26 million shows the price of squeezing extra flying hours out of old airframes (BNR News).

Poland gains from this too. It gives Warsaw a practical role inside NATO: allies with Soviet-era aircraft still need Polish technical knowledge. The broader idea of turning WZL-2 into a regional maintenance hub for legacy fighters is, for now, more visible in official language than in signed contracts (Fakti).

Fighter purchases do not close gaps overnight

Romania shows why. Bucharest received the last F-16 from a Portuguese batch in 2020 (Lockheed Martin). In 2024, the US notified Congress of a possible sale of 32 F-35A aircraft (DSCA). But an air force is not made operational by delivery alone. Pilots must be trained, spare parts must move reliably, weapons must be integrated, and the aircraft must connect to NATO's command network. The purchase is the opening step in a long process.

Slovakia is the harder lesson. After donating its MiG-29s to Ukraine, Bratislava relied on allied air-policing cover, meaning NATO members took turns patrolling Slovak skies while it waited for replacement jets. In July 2026, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini was still presenting the readiness of two F-16s for Baltic air policing as a future commitment, not a present capability (Aktuality). NATO filled the gap. But dependence on allied cover carries a political cost at home and gives weight to whoever is able to turn up.

A spare-parts problem in Sofia, a rotation problem in Rome

When a NATO member cannot police its own skies, the alliance fills the space. Italy has sent Eurofighters, and in 2024 F-35As, to Romania under NATO's enhanced air-policing mission (NATO Air Command, Aeronautica Militare). Each rotation uses aircraft hours, pilot time and maintenance capacity. A shortage of parts in Sofia becomes a planning problem in Rome, even if no Italian minister would put it that way.

NATO treats air policing as a permanent peacetime task (NATO). Bulgaria is part of the Black Sea theatre with Romania, Turkey and Ukraine, where Russian pressure has made air surveillance more urgent (DefenseRomania).

The chain of responsibility says a great deal. The Bulgarian government decides whether to contract WZL-2. The Polish state owns the facility. NATO has no formal role in the maintenance deal, but absorbs the consequences if Bulgaria cannot keep enough aircraft flying, through extra rotations by countries such as Italy. Europe discusses defence integration over years. Readiness gaps are covered by whoever has the parts today. Bulgarian reporting has not shown a signed long-term agreement between Sofia and Bydgoszcz (24 Chasa). Until Bulgaria's F-16s are combat-ready, the real question is not what the summit communiqué says, but who covers the weak spots over the Black Sea.