The period 14-25 September 2020 witnesses the international flight training "Thracian Viper - 2020" which is hosted by the Bulgarian Air Force in the airspace of Bulgaria. This training on the Bulgarian side will be lead by the Graf Ignatievo Airforce Base, Brigadier General Dimitar Petrov.
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"Forces and resources of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Air Force of the Hellenic Republic and of Romania will participate in the joint flights. During the second flight week, crews from the United States Air Forces in Europe with F-16 aircraft will join the international training, and the F-16s will be relocated to Graf Ignatievo Air Base on 18 September 2020," said the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria.
This training is expected to improve the training in defensive and offensive air operations of the Bulgarian Air Force together with Bulgaria's coalition partners
"The training plan envisages the complexity of the performed tasks to intensify throughout the course of the training activities and to cover fulfilment of tasks specific to the aviation and air defence," added the ministry.
Furthermore, the ministry said that on the Bulgarian side, servicemen from the Command, control and surveillance base, crews of MiG-29 fighter aircraft and L-39 training/light combat aircraft from Graf Ignatievo Air Force Base, crews of Mi-24 and AS-532 Cougar helicopters from Krumovo Air Force Base as well as air defense units of the Air Force and of the Land Forces were to participate in this international training.
The training will also include the F-18 aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force which will operate from the territory of Romania. "The F-16s and MiG-21s Lancer aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, and the F-16s of the Greek Air Force will conduct take-off and landing from their bases of permanent deployment," the ministry said.