On 5 October 2026, the 22nd Air Base – Bezmer solemnly celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishment and the 40th anniversary of the arrival of the Su-25 aircraft in Bulgaria. The two significant anniversaries brought together generations of service personnel, veterans and official guests at the military airfield. Among those attending the celebration were representatives of the Bulgarian Air Force Command, local government officials, commanders of air bases and military formations of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, as well as veterans.

During the ceremonial formation, the Air Base Commander, Colonel Milen Dimitrov, emphasised the continuity between generations and expressed his gratitude to the veterans who laid the foundations and built the reputation of Bezmer Air Base. He thanked the personnel for the professionalism, discipline and sense of responsibility with which they carry out their duties every day.

“The true strength of an air base is not measured by its equipment, but by its people – by their training, character and mutual trust,” Colonel Dimitrov emphasised.

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By orders of the Commander of the Bulgarian Air Force and the Commander of the military formation, distinguished military personnel and civilian employees received awards.

The celebration concluded with aerial demonstrations. Before the Su-25 flights scheduled in the programme, as a special surprise for those in attendance, a pair of F-16 fighter aircraft from the 3rd Air Base – Graf Ignatievo, flew over the airfield and performed an aerial salute. Immediately afterwards, the ground-attack aircraft appeared in the sky.

Spectators witnessed a low-level flypast by a pair of Su-25 aircraft, simulated air-target engagement, attacks on ground targets and complex manoeuvres. At the end of the demonstration, the crews performed a formation flypast over the runway.



The history of the air base began on 5 October 1951, with the formation of the 22nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. Initially stationed at Graf Ignatievo Airfield, the regiment relocated to Bezmer Airfield in October 1955. Over the following decades, the regiment evolved from a fighter unit into a bomber and ground-attack unit, establishing itself as an important component of Bulgarian military aviation.

A particularly significant chapter in its history was written in 1986, when, on 15 September, the first four Su-25 aircraft landed there.

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