Bulgaria's parliament approved on Friday to spend over 3.2 billion leva (1.6 billion euros, $1.9 billion) for new fighter jets and armoured carriers to update its ailing fleet of Soviet-built equipment.

The decision was backed by 151 lawmakers, with seven voting against and one abstention.

It will allow the defence ministry to restart the investment project for acquiring at least eight new or used fighter jets for 1.8 billion leva to replace its current fleet of Soviet-built MiG-29 jets.

Out of a fleet of 15, the airforce can currently rely on just seven planes in good flying order. Safety concerns prompted its pilots to refuse to fly in a training operation last October, in a bid to speed up the new acquisitions.

A defence ministry commission had earlier reviewed offers and shortlisted Sweden's Gripen as a preferred option but the procedure has been sidetracked by the current conservative cabinet of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

The defence ministry will now seek requests for proposals from more suppliers and under reviewed requirements -- for new or used F-16s from the US, Portugal and Israel, for new or used Eurofighter Typhoons from Germany and Italy, for second-hand Rafale fighters from France, and new or used Gripen jets from Sweden.

Parliament also approved spending of 1.46 billion leva on 150 new wheeled armoured carriers for its land forces to replace the current Soviet-made BTR armoured personnel carriers and BRDM armoured vehicles.

Two US companies -- Textron and General Dynamics Land Systems -- France's Nexter Sytems, and Finland's Patria have already expressed interest in the deal.

Swedish PM testifies in court over war jets sale in Brazil
Stockholm (AFP) June 8, 2018 - Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven testified in court on Friday, at the request of a Brazilian judge, over a suspected corruption case in Brazil involving the sale of Swedish fighter aircraft at the expense of their French counterpart Rafale.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is being investigated for money laundering and influence peddling as prosecutors accuse him of having received 2.25 million reais ($1.04 million at the current rate).

Lula is suspected of having received the money in the purchase of Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab's Jas Gripen fighter jets through his son Luis Claudio's company to bribe Dilma Rousseff, who succeeded him as the nation's leader in 2011.

After arriving to the Stockholm district court early Friday, Lofven denied having any knowledge of bribes related to the arms deal but admitted to having promoted the sale of the Swedish aircraft before he became prime minister.

"I'm a working-class man. It's obvious that I would help a Swedish company and make sure to create jobs in Sweden," he told the daily Aftonbladet.

Lofven denied before a judge that he had met Lula and Rousseff in South Africa in December 2013 on the sidelines of a tribute paid to the late President Nelson Mandela.

He also denied knowing Mauro Marcondes, an alleged intermediary between Saab and Lula. The hearing lasted less than five minutes, according to Aftonbladet.

At the end of December 2013, Brazil ended more than a decade of negotiations and reports and chose the Swedish Gripen jets for a $4.5 billion contract at the expense of France's Rafale and the American Boeing's Super Hornet.

Brazil and Sweden inked the deal for 36 fighter jets in October 2014, a few months after Lofven became the head of state.

Saab Chairman Marcus Wallenberg and President and CEO Hakan Buskhe were also questioned in court. Both said they do not know Mauro Marcondes, according to the TT news agency.

The 72-year-old Lula, who was jailed in early April, is serving a 12-year sentence for taking an apartment as a bribe, a case he describes as politically motivated.

The former president is charged in six additional cases in which he claims he's innocent.

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