MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian MIG Aircraft- Building Corporation is upgrading MIG-29 Fulcrum fighters in service with the Bulgarian Air Force in compliance with the contract signed earlier.
"The ongoing contract with the Bulgarian side, as well as other contractors has been carried out non-stop, despite the recent reshuffling the MIG management. Corresponding departments of MIG are constantly in touch with the Bulgarian side in order to discuss emerging financial and other problems," the MIG public relations department told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
It also said that Monday media reports quoted Avgust Michev, chief comptroller of the Bulgarian Defense Ministry, as saying that Bulgaria threatened to impose fines on MIG in light of the alleged delay in the contract timeframe, coordinated in 2002 at the presidential level.
The MIG public relations department says that MIG has not received any official notifications from Bulgaria.
"Nevertheless, it is obvious that the quoted statement does not correspond to the friendly nature of business relations between MIG and the Bulgarian side. It is a safe assumption that Michev's statement, translated from Bulgarian into English, and then from English into Russian, may have been ill interpreted, and only careless commentators should be held responsible. In any case, the reclamation procedure, envisioned by any trade contract, does not start with unilateral public statements. MIG wants to say that it has always complied with the contract, signed with the Bulgarian side," the department said.
It also said that MIG does not wish to comment on assumptions of possible political reasons behind this statement, which have nothing to do with the contract. The opinion, linking the statement of the Bulgarian side to the recently signed contract on delivering shipborne MIG-29K fighters to India, is absolutely unacceptable. It is also unjustified to accuse the U.S. and NATO of "jealousy" in light of increasing success of MIG aircraft in Asian markets. Bulgaria has always been one of the most important partners of MIG in Europe, and Bulgaria's giving up operating MIG aircraft would be unreasonable both financially and technologically, the public relations department said.
The contract for upgrading MIG-29 fighters in the Bulgarian Air Force's inventory was signed in March 2002, after the MIG corporation won a competition among contenders for the contract. Under the general agreement, MIG is responsible for a broad range of services in addition to upgrading the fighters. In particular, it is to conduct restoration of the fighters, extend their service lives and arrange spare parts supplies to Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian Air Force has 21 MIG-29 fighters in its inventory.