Bulgarian MPs voted Friday for a second time in favour of a $1.3-billion deal to buy eight F-16 fighter jets from the US, overriding a presidential veto on the purchase.

President Rumen Radev, himself a former pilot and air force commander, had rejected the controversial deal on Tuesday, saying the deal was too expensive and that it was not clear whether Bulgaria would receive the necessary training and equipment with the aircraft.

However, following Friday's vote Radev will now have to approve the deal.

The purchase will represent the biggest upgrade to Bulgaria's armed forces since the end of communism and should see the eight planes delivered by 2024.

Bulgaria has been a member of NATO since 2004 but its air force is equipped with ageing Soviet-built MiG-29 fighters, just seven of which are in service.

Radev, who is seen as close to the socialist opposition, had expressed a preference for a cheaper alternative to the F-16 deal, such as buying Sweden's Gripen fighters.

Since under the US contract with manufacturer Lockheed Martin Bulgaria will have to pay for the F-16 Block 70 jets in full by September, MPs have also had to modify the current budget, raising the deficit for 2019 from 0.5 percent of gross domestic product to 2.1 percent.

In theory, Radev could also veto this modification, but this too would likely be overriden by MPs.

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LOCKHEED MARTIN

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