The Green Bridge flight training took place in Bulgarian and Greek airspace on Thursday for the tenth consecutive year, reports the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). Bulgarian crews of MiG-29 fighters from Graf Ignatievo Air Base took part in the training.

A C-27J Spartan military transport aircraft from Vrazhdebna Air Base in the role of the offending aircraft was escorted by Bulgarian fighter jets and handed over to a pair of F-16s tasked with escorting it to Larissa airport for landing.

In the second part of the training, the offending aircraft was intercepted by the Greek fighters, escorted to the Bulgarian airspace and handed over to the Bulgarian crews on duty. They successfully performed the Air Policing task, forcing it to land at Graf Ignatievo Airport.

The aim of the joint training is to achieve better coordination and interoperability between the air forces of the two countries in conducting cross-border operations in aviation control and airspace security.