Cabinet asked to extend mission in Bulgaria, chance is small

The Netherlands has been asked to extend the deployment of Dutch F-35s in Bulgaria. The chances of this happening don’t seem that great. “The request has been made and it is being discussed. But it is difficult because of our limitations at Defense,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during a visit to the military.

Four Dutch F-35s are stationed at the Bulgarian air force base Graf Ignatievo. They have to protect the eastern flank of the NATO area. The agreement with NATO was that the fighters would stay there for two months. That period ends at the end of May.

Rutte visited the military on Monday together with the Commander of the Armed Forces, General Onno Eichelsheim. It is the first foreign mission of the F-35s (previously also called the JSF). Rutte was met at the base by Deputy Minister Yordan Boshilov.