Flight over Bezmer Air Base, Southeastern Bulgaria (BTA Photo/Mira Bezus)

The Thracian Star 2025 joint flight training, hosted by the Bulgarian Air Force, started at the 22nd Bezmer Air Base in Southeastern Bulgaria on Thursday, the Defence Ministry said in a press release. Participating are crews from Greece, Romania, the United States and the Multinational Battlegroup in Bulgaria with Italy as the framework country.

The joint flights and tasks with the allied countries will take place in Bulgarian airspace from July 14 to 25.

Participating on the Bulgarian side are servicepersons from the Command, Control and Surveillance Base, crews of MiG-29 and L-39 from the 3rd Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Su-25 from the 22nd Bezmer Air Base, AS-532AL Cougar from the 24th Krumovo Air Base, formations of the First Air Defence Missile Base with the Kub surface-to-air defence missile system from the Air Force and surface-to-air defence missile formations of the Land Forces.

F-16 aircraft from the 31st Fighter Wing of the US Air Force in Europe from Aviano Air Base will participate from partner nations. The air forces of Greece and Romania will also operate F-16 aircraft from their permanent deployment airfields.

Thracian Star is an international flight training exercise that has been conducted since 2010.