The Republic of Bulgaria is now a member of NATO, during the non-declared Cold War (1947-1991) the People’s Republic of Bulgaria was a member of the Warsaw Pact. Warsaw Pact Bulgaria first received the MiG-29 during the last years of the Cold War, starting in 1989. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004.
U.S. Air Force video report, from 13OCT2010, explaining wargame Thracian Star:
In May 2015, Louisiana Air National Guard F-15C Eagles trained alongside Bulgarian MiG-29s. Video by Master Sergeant Toby M. Valadie, edited by me to focus on the MiG-29:
USAF video, by Staff Sergeant Ashley Corkins, MiG-29s during NATO’s first ever ‘joint air policing’ (along with California & Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 Eagles) of the Black Sea, on 09SEP2016:
NATO video released 13OCT2020, showing ‘air policing’ operations over supposed NATO Black Sea territory. Video was edited by me to highlight the MiG-29:
MiG-29UB excerpt from U.S. Air Force promo video (by Airman First Class Brooke Moeder, 15JUL2021):
USAF Airman First Class Brooke Moeder shows you MiG-29 action during wargame Thracian Star, July 2021:
In 2019, NATO-Bulgaria paid Lockheed Martin, in full, for eight U.S. made F-16 Falcons, however, on 17MAY2023, BulgarianMilitary.com reported that the United States government/Department of Defense canceled any additional F-16 purchases and told Bulgaria to continue using the MiG-29!
On 11AUG2023, The Sofia Globe reported that NATO-Bulgaria is paying NATO-Poland 9.5-million Euros to rebuild six MiG-29s!
Cold War & Beyond: Микоян и Гуревич (Mikoyan & Gurevich) МиГ-29 (MiG-29)
Post Cold War: NATO’s MiG-21s (including Bulgaria)