Bulgaria has announced intent to order seven GM400 radar stations from the French defense company Thales, the prognosed order value is €200 million. The Bulgarian military needs these radars to provide target designation for the F-16 aircraft arriving in the country over time under acquisition contract with the U.S.
From another angle, this news raises the question of what, in that case, were the Bulgarian MiG-29s relying on all this time. Opex360 reports that, in fact, the Soviet-era jets somehow made do with civilian radars for monitoring the country's airspace.
The Bulgarian Air Force has been using these general purpose radars to ensure target data for their MiG-29. The only problem now is that such radars lack cover range and other capabilities to take up more complex tasks performed by F-16s, which is why they need to buy the latest radars specifically designed for defense.
Interestingly, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense chose the GM400 variant from Thales back in March 2024, following a competition. But then, it took the ministry another 1.5 years to sort out various bureaucratic nuances.
Only recently, on June 16, 2025, has Bulgaria signed a firm contract for the supply of seven GM400 units, the deal will be implemented through the Direction générale de l'armement (Directorate General for Armaments, DGA) of the French Ministry for the Armed Forces. The delivery timelines of the radars for Bulgaria have not been disclosed.
Announcing the agreement during the Paris Air Show, French defense minister Sébastien Lecornu stated there's already several other potential customers lined up for the GM400, and that Thales is already offering an improved version of this radar, designated GM400α, for export. The upgraded model has an increased instrumental range of air target detection — up to 515 kilometers, — also, 5x times higher computing power compared to the base variant, and integrates artificial intelligence algorithms.
