site.btaDefence Minister: Participation of Ally Aircraft in Air Policing in Bulgaria Will Ensure Reaction to More Complex Air Attacks

Defence Minister: Participation of Ally Aircraft in Air Policing in Bulgaria Will Ensure Reaction to More Complex Air Attacks

Sofia, February 1 (BTA) - Some two weeks after Parliament approved on principle revisions to the Defence and Armed Forces Act to allow Air Policing missions in Bulgarian air space with the participation of ally aircraft, Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev explained that the participation of the allies will make sure that Bulgaria is capable of protecting its air space in the event of more complex air attacks.

Following are some other questions and the Minister's answers:

Q: What called for the participation of the Bulgarian Air Force in Air Policing?

A: I have no reason to expect that the Bulgarian air space will be guarded by ally aircraft. We have resources and capacity to protect our own border.

Q: What formation of Bulgarian and ally aircraft will perform the air policing?

A: Operational decisions for Air Policing operations will be made by the Combined Air Operation Centre in Torrejon, Spain, in coordination with our Air Command and Control, as it has been since 2004.

Everything depends on the complexity and specifics of the mission, the weather conditions, the requirement for flight duration, opportunity for aerial refuelling, the capacity for direct control by an airborne warning and control system and for real-time transmission of encrypted voice data. These are all capabilities that our fighter jets don't have.

Let me underline that our Air Command and Control Centre will be able to propose that our fighters be used in the air policing missions.

Q: What will be the task of the ally aircraft?

A: Their presence will make sure that we are capable of reacting to much more complex air attacks. There are such risks and the risks are serious, was said during the Alliance Summit in Wales. This is why a recommendation was made at the Summit that the protection of the air force be enhanced. The other countries on NATO's eastern flank have already done so - only Bulgaria has not.

Q: So you don't think that the revisions to the Defence and Armed Forces Act should be changed as suggested by the Bulgarian Air Force Commander, to give Bulgarian aircraft a leading role in Air Policing missions?

A: You understand that giving priority to the Bulgarian Air Force will be highly restrictive and would hamper the efficient use of ally aircraft in Bulgarian territory - and the whole idea of the Air Policing missions. Such a requirement for priority use of Bulgarian aircraft, including in specific conditions when ally aircraft would react far more adequately considering their wider operational capabilities. After all, the idea of their presence is to use these capabilities.

There is a case from 2014 in the NATO chronicles, when Romania tried to set in place such requirements in respect to Canada with which it was supposed to be guarding jointly its air space. The Canadian participation was reduced to flight training and not real participation of the Canadian forces in Air Policing missions. This caused the Canadian representative in NATO to state a clear dissatisfaction. Nobody is going to bring its pilots for no reason and keep them grounded.

We have to preserve the texts [of the revisions to the Defence and Armed Forces Act] the way they are, without any restrictive requirements, and give the powers and discretion by the Combined Air Operation Centre in Torrejon a decisive role as they have a fuller picture of the whole region.

Q: How will the non-participation of neighbouring countries in the implementation of joint Air Policing be regulated? Will Turkish aircraft be allowed to protect Bulgarian airspace?

A: We do not intend to negotiate with Turkey for joint Air Policing, and restrictive clauses should not be included as these could lead to diplomatic problems with neighbouring countries. We already have bilateral agreements on Air Policing transborder operations with Romania and Greece that can be activated in certain situations. The agreements were ratified by the 42nd National Assembly and the parliaments of both countries. The mechanism for concluding such bilateral agreements with a NATO member country give us the opportunity to choose and assess the expedience.

We have identified a circle of NATO member countries with which we have held preliminary talks to check their opinion on principle. These are countries with which we already have traditions and experience in holding joint exercises and trainings or which have aviation equipment close to the parameters of ours. The Bulgarian public will be informed after a NATO member country is approved as partner for joint Air Policing.