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Bulgaria's Sofia International Airport will close to all civilian air traffic twice this weekend, as a growing fleet of American military aircraft stages at the facility in what observers say is part of the largest US air force deployment to Europe and the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
According to flight data published by FlightRadar24, the airport will suspend non-military operations on Feb. 23 from 01:15 to 02:50 and again on February 24 from 01:05 to 03:35. Only military flights will be permitted during those windows, the Bulgarian investigative outlet Obektivno.BG reported after verifying the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) data.
Photographs circulating on social media show a substantial contingent of American military aircraft parked at Terminal 1 of Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia. Former Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Milen Keremedchiev, now a security analyst, wrote on Facebook that the aircraft included seven US aerial refueling tankers used for mid-air resupply of fighter jets, three C-17 and C-130 cargo planes, and several Boeing 747s typically used to transport military personnel.
"All of them are on their way to Iran," Keremedchiev wrote. "Apparently, it will get very hot there soon."
Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense confirmed the presence of the US Air Force planes at the airport but characterized their deployment as being "in support of training related to NATO's enhanced vigilance activities." The ministry said the American personnel on site were engaged solely in aircraft maintenance. Caretaker Foreign Minister Nadezhda Neynsky acknowledged that her ministry had limited information about the planes but said she had ordered officials to collect as many details as possible.
Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova said Friday that the presidential office had received formal notification from the Defense Ministry stating that the aircraft were part of upcoming training activities. However, she voiced concern over what she described as inadequate communication between state institutions, calling it inappropriate that the presidency had been informed through what she termed a "cursory letter."
The aircraft in Sofia represent a small piece of a far larger American military mobilization. Obektivno.BG reported that more than 120 US Air Force planes had crossed the Atlantic within a matter of days, including four dozen F-16s, three squadrons of F-35A stealth fighters, and 12 F-22 Raptor air superiority jets, along with aerial refueling tankers and reconnaissance aircraft. Six Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker refueling planes from the 6th Air Refueling Wing based at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida were confirmed among the aircraft at Sofia.
The deployment also extends well beyond Bulgaria. F-22s have arrived at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, a staging base that served the same role before last June's Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, is en route to join the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group already positioned in the Arabian Sea. Analysts tracking open-source flight data have identified dozens of fighter jets, airborne early warning planes, and electronic warfare aircraft flowing toward bases in the Azores, Crete, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other locations across the region.
The military buildup coincides with high-stakes nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Tehran. US media, citing official White House and Pentagon sources, have reported that the Pentagon has informed the White House that American forces will be ready to conduct a military operation as early as this weekend, according to CNN as relayed by Bulgarian state news agency BTA.
President Donald Trump, speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace for Gaza, said he had given Iran roughly ten days to reach a nuclear agreement with Washington. He described the talks with Tehran as "good" but "historically difficult," and reiterated that Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon." He added bluntly: "We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen." Pressed on timing, Trump said: "Maybe we're going to make a deal. You'll find out over the next, probably, ten days."
The diplomatic track has shown some signs of life. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with an Iranian delegation in Geneva earlier this week and agreed on what Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described as a set of guiding principles. The White House acknowledged "a little bit of progress," though significant gaps remain between the two sides. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, meanwhile, has struck a defiant tone, warning on social media that his forces possess weapons capable of sending American warships "to the bottom of the sea."
Bulgaria, a NATO member since 2004, signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States in 2006 that permits the shared use of several military facilities on Bulgarian territory. Under that agreement, US forces can use Bulgarian bases for missions in third countries without requiring specific Bulgarian authorization, though both governments agreed to consult on all aspects of facility use. The country also hosts joint US-Bulgarian military installations at Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo air bases, as well as the Novo Selo training range.
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