of new fighters still considered urgent. In response, the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance reportedly set aside funding for the purchase of new fighter jets in the 2016 budget draft. Plans and procedures for the procurement of fighter jets and patrol ships were established in the middle of 2016, with around 2.42 billion lev (1.24 billion euro) earmarked for the projects. The estimated cost of the jets was expected to be around 1.5 billion lev and a contract for eight aircraft was supposed to be reached by the end of 2016. Deliveries were planned from 2018 to 2021, and those of an additional eight aircraft from 2022 to 2023. In October 2016, it was alleged that technical specifications for the procurement had been altered to favor the F-16, which led to several Bulgarian members of parliament to request comments from the Minister of Defence. More delays were met as Prime Minister Boyko Borisov resigned due to his party's presidential candidate losing the elections, and because Bulgarian parties failed to form a new government, which led to new elections. By March 2017, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence had received three offers; from Sweden with Gripens, from Italy with second-hand Eurofighters, and from Portugal with second-hand US F-16s. A working group began evaluating these offers and by April, concluded that the Gripen was the preferred choice. In June 2017, Bulgaria had said that it would start negotiations for the Gripen. However, the procurement was again put on hold over concerns that not all bidders were treated equally. A new round of proposals was asked, which also included newly built Eurofighters from Italy and F-16s from the United States. In November 2017, it was reported that the Bulgarian Air Force was also looking into buying US-made Super Hornets. A decision was expected by July 2018. In March 2018, it was reported that Israel was to be invited to participate in the tender with F-16C/D fighter jets. In December 2018, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence selected the offer for eight F-16Vs from the United States for an estimated 1.8 billion lev ($1.05 billion) as the preferred option, and recommended the government to start talks with the US. On 16 January 2019, the Bulgarian parliament approved the government's proposal to start negotiations with the United States to purchase F-16V Block 70 aircraft. In May 2019 however, Bulgarian Minister of Defence Krasimir Karakachanov stated in a radio