List of Bulgarian Air Force bases
The Bulgarian Air Force has used a number of air bases since 1945. 1st Fighter Air Base (Dobroslavtsi) Dobroslavtsi Air Base used to house a fighter squadron (flying Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23) of the 18th Fighter Air Regiment - an integral part of the 1st Air Defence Division. Later, as 1st Fighter Air Base it was put under the newly established Air Defence Corps and its squadron was named "Knights of the Sky". Dobroslavtsi has been the main air defence asset of the capital Sofia right until its deactivation in 2002 2nd Fighter Air Base (Gabrovnitsa) Gabrovnitsa Air Base, near the city of Montana, used to house a fighter squadron (flying MiG-23s) of the 18th Fighter Air Regiment - an integral part of the 1st Air Defence Division. Later, as 2nd Fighter Air Base it was put under the newly established Air Defence Corps and its squadron was named "Wild Cat". Gabrovnitsa Air Base was the main air defence asset of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant at Kozloduy right until its deactivation. 3rd Fighter Air Base (Graf Ignatievo) Graf Ignatievo Air Base used to house the 19th Fighter Air Regiment (flying MiG-21s) of the 10th Combined Air Corps. Later the corps was transformed into Tactical Air Command and the 19th FAR was transferred to Air Defence Corps as 3rd Fighter Air Base. Today it is the sole active Fighter Air Base of the BAF with two squadrons, one of which is the MiG-29 "Sharks" squadron of the deactivated 5th FAB - Ravnets. 4th Fighter Air Base (Uzundzhovo) Uzundzhovo Air Base, near the city of Haskovo, used to house a fighter air regiment and after its disbandment became a squadron of the 19th Fighter Air Regiment (HQ at Graf Ignatievo). When the 19th FAR was transformed into 3rd FAB and shifted to ADC Uzundzhovo went along as an independent unit: the 4th Fighter Air Base. Shortly afterwards it changed tasks and hats transferring to the Tactical Air Command as 21st Fighter-Bomber Air Base and finally disbanded. 5th Fighter Air Base (Ravnets) Ravnets Air Base, near the Black Sea coast city of Burgas, housed a squadron (flying MiG-21s, later MiG-29s) of the 17th Fighter Air Regiment - an integral part of the 2nd Air Defence Division. Later, as 5th Fighter Air Base it was put under the newly established Air Defence Corps and its squadron was named "Sharks"(although unofficially, but still because of its patch and its geographical location close to the sea this is how it used to be called). The base was considered elite because of its proximity to the Turkish border and its task to protect the oil refinery near Burgas, which is deemed of strategical importance to the country. That is the reason for the squadron to be the first (and only) transiting to the MiG-29. As the base deactivated the air unit was moved to Graf Ignatievo, where it is currently residing as 2nd Squadron of the 3rd Fighter Air Base. 6th Fighter Air Base (Balchik) Balchik Air Base