site.btaBulgarian Chief of Defence: "I Want Bulgaria to Have Modern, Strong Armed Forces"

Bulgarian Chief of Defence: "I Want Bulgaria to Have Modern, Strong Armed Forces"

Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria, May 5 (Dima Shopova of BTA) - "I want Bulgaria to have strong and modern armed forces, and brave, honest and victorious soliders and officers," Bulgarian Chief of Defence Gen. Konstantin Popov said in a BTA interview ahead of May 6, the Day of St. George, which the Bulgarian Armed Forces celebrate as Valour Day and its holiday.

Speaking of the priorities of the military leadership of the Armed Forces, Gen. Popov said that they want to make sure an integrated approach is applied in the modernization of the army because it ensures multiplication of the effect.   

"This is why we have put forward - and they have already been approved by the Defence Council - three key modernization projects: for the Air Forces, for the Land Forces and for the Navy. This integrated approach is important because I see the Armed Forces as a whole. Two of the three projects were given a go head by the government and have reached Parliament, and the project for the modernization of the Land Forces will be re-done but it, too, has been submitted to the legislature."

In late March, the government approved three modernization projects worth some 2.42 billion leva: one for purchase a squadron of 12 to 19 multirole fighters for the Bulgarian Air Force for some 800-900 million leva until 2023; another one for purchase of six engines for MiG-29 aircraft, new or refurbished; and a third one for two patrol craft for the Navy.

A project by the Land Forces for purchase of some 250 armoured combat vehicles and auxiliary vehicles for three EU Battlegroups was put on hold.

Gen. Popov said he would hate to see the Land Forces using defence equipment that was produced 25-30 years ago while Bulgaria uses state-of-the-art combat equipment by sea and air. "We carry our tasks together and we have to be able to communicate and work together simultaneously and everywhere."

Proposed revisions to the Defence and Armed Forces Act envisage that the special forces go under the direct command of the Chief of Defence, said Gen. Popov. "They will be assigned tasks seperately, will have their own budget which means that it will be planned and expended precisely. Their training will be organized by the Defence Staff. There will be an option for assigning to them tasks to be performed jointly with any of the three service components," he said.