On 27 February the Bulgarian government approved funding for the agreement between the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Belarus’s 558th Aircraft Repair Plant (558 ARZ) covering the overhaul, life extension, and avionics upgrade of the Bulgarian Air Force’s (BuAF’s) Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft.
The deal is priced at BGN82.5 million (USD47.9 million) and covers eight aircraft: six Su-25K single-seaters and two Su-25UBK two-seaters. The aircraft will be worked on at 558 ARZ’s plant in Baranovichi, Belarus, and be delivered back to the BuAF in the first half of 2020.
The agreement was originally signed on 28 November 2018, but there were some issues with the payment, which reportedly failed to be transferred to the contractor until the end of the year. To enable the project to be funded from the 2019 state budget, specific approval had to be granted by the Bulgarian government for a 100% advance payment for the deal.
Six Bulgarian Su-25K single-seaters and two Su-25UBK two-seaters are be overhauled, upgraded, and life extended by Belarus's 558 ARZ. (Aleksandar Mladenov)
The overhaul and life extension works are required to provide the Su-25K/UBKs, currently held in a marginal airworthy condition by the BuAF, with eight years or 800 flight hours of service life (whichever is reached first), while their overall service life is set to be extended up to 40 years, making the fleet good for use until 2028.
The avionics upgrade addresses obsolescence in the Su-25’s systems and includes installation of two new radios, a new navigation system with a GPS/GLONASS satellite receiver, an upgraded flight data recorder, a digital audio/video recorder, and a new head-up display and multi-functional cockpit displays.
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
