Main page "Colours ot the MiG-29 (Fulcrum)"

Revised: December 2023

BULGARIA

Република България (Republic of Bulgaria)
(up to 1990 People's Republic of Bulgaria)

In service Военновъздушни сили (Air Forces) since 1989
Deliveries

June 1989 - September 1990: 18 MiG-29 (9-12A) and 4 MiG-29UB (9-51) from Soviet Union
In total 22 MiGs between 1989 and 1990

Losses:
1994: MiG-29 #25 destroyed
April 2012: MiG-29UB #11 crashed near Plovdiv, during Thracian Star 2012 exercise with the US F-16s from Aviano. Pilots ejected safely.
June 2021: MiG-29 lost in Black Sea during joint military exercise with Serbia. Pilot died in crash. Aircraft's bort numer unknown.

Since 2004 Bulgaria is in NATO. Annual international exercises in Graf Ignatievo and Bezmer air bases.


Some aircraft have silhouettes of A-10s or F-15s "shot down" during exercises, painted in blue on the left tail.
MiG-29 #30 has four silhouettes of A-10s of the 81st FS "shot down" in Cooperative Key 2001 exercise (9 NATO members and 13 Partnership for Peace countries), the MiG #33 - one F-15.

In 2002 there was a tender for overhauls 16 MiGs: FGUP RSK "MiG", Elbit (Israel), EADS (Germany), 558th ARZ (Belarus) and IAI (Israel) - won by MiG. Due to lack of money, MiGs were overhauled not till 2007 in Bulgarian repair plants "Temer" and "G. Benkovski Plant" in Plovdiv with cooperation and under direction of the RSK "MiG" specialists; first flights in November (#32) and December 2007, end of modernization about Summer 2009. Life durability extended from 2000 to 4000 hours or 40 years. Still painted in original standard camouflage - yes, I know that sounds a little incredible, but many good quality photos from 2010-2017 shows that overhaul didn't mean re-painting (or they were painted in exact the same shapes and colours).

2009: for the first time in years, Bulgaria start training of a new pilots: six for Graf Ignatievo and another six for Bezmer air base (where is the joint American-Bulgarian military training facility and big American base established in 2006).

In late 2017 some pilots refused to fly MiGs because of insecurity. In December 2017 was a tender for overhaul and 4-years maintenance of 12 MiG-29 and 3 MiG-29UB. Bulgaria choose Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, but Ukrainianian state defence concern Ukroboronprom complaint to decision. In the begining of 2018 operational is approx. 7 aircraft, desperately needs overhauls.

2022-2023 flyable aircraft: #12 (UB), #14 (UB), #31, #33 (UB), #37, #38

May 2023: (...) Bulgaria has received a second MiG-29 engine overhauled in Poland under a current agreement with that country, the Defence Ministry said on Twitter. Probably a contract for six another engines, overhauled in WZL-2 in Bydgoszcz.

Units

1989-2000: 1 Iztryebitelna Aviatsyonna Eskadrila, Ravnetz near Burgas
Since 2000: 2 Iztryebitelna Aviatsyonna Eskadrila, Graf Ignatievo near Plovdiv
Since 2010: 3rd Air Base, Graf Ignatievo near Plovdiv

Numbers

MiG-29: 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
MiG-29UB: 01 02 03 04

Between 2005 and 2008 some numbers were changed, really don't know why:
01 to 11
02 to 12
03 to 33 should be 13, but we are supersticious here, in Eastern Europe
04 to 14
27 to 37
28 to 38
29 to 39

Camouflage and painting


MiG-29 #15, Bulgaria 1989.


MiG-29 #22, Bulgaria 2007.


MiG-29UB #33, Bulgaria 2007 (Sentry Lion exercises).


MiG-29UB #14, Bulgaria 2012.
100 години български военновъздушни сили (100 Years of the Bulgarian Air Force)
Insignia of Bulgarian air forces: 1914-1918, 1937-41, 1941-1944, 1945-1948, 1949-1992, since 1992 up to day.


MiG-29 unknown number, Bulgaria 2014: 25 years of MiG-29 in service of the Bulgarian Air Force.
Silhouettes of MiG-29, MiG-23, MiG-19, MiG-17 or MiG-15, Aero Delfin

Between 2019 and 2022 on at least four aircraft were painted portraits of Bulgarian air force heroes (on inner side of the starboard vertical stabilizer):
July 2019 MiG-29UB #33 - Nedelcho Bonchev (Неделчо Бончев 1917-1944)
Summer 2022 MiG-29UB #14 - Radul Milkov (Радул Милков 1883-1962)
Summer 2022 MiG-29 #38 Stoyan Stoyanov (Стоян Стоянов 1913-1997)
September 2022 MiG-29 #31 Simeon Petrov (Симеон Петров 1888-1950)

Bulgarian MiGs-29 2019-2022


MiG-29UB #14, Bulgaria 2022, Radul Milkov.


MiG-29UB #12, Bulgaria 2022. Strange painted Bulgarian MiG in 2022 (starboard is probably symmetrical to port.


products/nb/ncamouflagestatus
9-12A 2960526321 15 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960526322 16 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960526324 17 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960526325 18 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960526333 19 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960526334 20 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960532035 21 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960532036 22 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960532377 23 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960532379 24 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960532380 (81?)25 2-tone standard crashed 1994
9-12A 2960532382 26 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960532383 27 2-tone standard number 37
9-12A 2960535100 28 2-tone standard number 38
9-12A 2960535101 29 2-tone standard number 39
9-12A 2960535102 30 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960535103 31 2-tone standard
9-12A 2960535104 32 2-tone standard
9-51A N50903013375 01 2-tone standard number 11, crashed 2012
9-51A N50903013394 02 2-tone standard number 12
9-51A N50903018908 03 2-tone standard number 33
9-51A N50903018945 04 2-tone standard number 14

Mariusz Wojciechowski MiG-29 in colours Colours of the MiG-29 (МиГ-29).
Worldwide aircraft Mikoyan & Gurevich MiG-29 (Fulcrum) camouflage and painting schemes
MiG-29 MiG-29S MiG-29UB MiG-29M MiG-29M2 MiG-29UBT MiG-29SD MiG-29N MiG-29NUB MiG-29K MiG-29KUB
MiG-29AS MiG-29G MiG-29GT MiG-29BM MiG-29SM MiG-29SE MiG-29SMT MiG-29UPG MiG-29SMP MiG-29OVT MiG-35

All aircraft drawings © Mariusz Wojciechowski 2005-2023, Słupsk (Poland) mariusz@mariwoj.pl
Everyone can use drawings for free, if leaving author's name and logo