Bulgarian News Agency
May 26, 2014
Training Flights for Thracian Star 2014 Exercise Start at Graf Ignatievo Air Base
Training flights for the Thracian Star 2014 International Exercise started at Graf Ignatievo Air Base on Monday, the air base command said.
The exercise taking place from May 26 to June 4 involves F-16s from the 148th Fighter Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard, MiG-21 Lancers of the Romanian Air Force, F-16s of the Greek Air Force, MiG-29 and MiG-21 from Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Sukhoi Su-25 strike attack aircraft from Bezmer Air Base and L-39ZA trainer aircraft from the training aviation group at Dolna Mitropolia.
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Xinhua News Agency
May 30, 2014
NATO members hold air force exercise in Bulgaria
A military exercise, codenamed “Thracian Star 2014″, joined by three European countries and the United States, held its Opening Day here on Thursday.
More than 30 warplanes and 800 servicemen from the United States, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, participate in this year’s largest NATO exercise in Bulgaria from May 25 to June 4.
The drill includes tasks such as jet fighters fighting, overcoming air defense, and flights of joint Bulgarian-American crews.
The main objective of the joint flight exercise is to increase interoperability among the Air Forces of the participating countries and improve readiness for work in international environment.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Angel Naydenov and Commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe General Frank Gorenc attended the Open Day event.
Participants have demonstrated what has to be done to develop very successful NATO air forces, on which both the United States and NATO can rely on, Gorenc said.
The United States and Bulgaria, a NATO member since 2004, signed an agreement in 2006, allowing U.S. troops to be deployed in four locations in Bulgaria, and since then every year the U.S. and Bulgarian soldiers have worked and trained together at the joint training facilities of Graf Ignatievo, Bezmer and Novo Selo.
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