Bulgaria Links Defense Modernization with Economic Stimulus
Bulgaria is moving forward with plans to modernize its armed forces
The defence committee in Bulgaria’s parliament has turned down a proposal to reinstate the universal military conscription.
Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev told the committee on Thursday that a return to the military draft will require a considerable increase in budget spending, public broadcaster BNR reported.
Moreover, a mandatory military service of less than a year wouldn’t be long enough to ensure comprehensive initial military training, Nenchev added.
The proposal to reintroduce the draft was put forward by the nationalist Patriotic Front (PF), which supports the minority coalition government in parliament but has no cabinet ministers.
PF co-chairman Krasimir Karakachanov told the committee that Bulgaria’s professional army of some 30,000 servicemen was too small to defend the country in case of need. He added that military conscription could exist alongside professional army, according to BNR.
The number of refugees attempting to cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border has dropped significantly in the past two years
At the invitation of Bulgaria’s Chief of Defense, Admiral Emil Eftimov, a high-level trilateral meeting took place in Sofia on July 2, bringing together General Georgiță Vlad, Chief of the Romanian Defense Staff, and General Metin Gürak
In June, the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) facilitated a joint training exercise involving Special Operations Forces from both Bulgaria and the United States
The newly formed Center for Defense Innovation in Bulgaria will concentrate on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and technologies vital to national security
At the NATO summit in The Hague, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov confirmed that Bulgaria will develop and adopt a national defense investment plan aligned with the Alliance’s new target of 5% defense spending
EMKO has issued a firm denial of recent claims suggesting the company has been involved in supplying ammunition and related components from Serbia to Ukraine
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