site.btaPresident Plevneliev: Bulgarian Army Is Modernizing and Becoming More Compatible with NATO Allies

President Plevneliev: Bulgarian Army Is Modernizing and Becoming More Compatible with NATO Allies

Novo Selo Training Area, June 25 (BTA) - The most important
thing is that the Bulgarian Army is modernizing and becoming
ever more compatible with the allied forces, said here on
Thursday President Rosen Plevneliev.

According to him, investments must be made in the Army because
another army can not be expected to provide the State's
security. "We will not be attacking anyone, all armaments here,
regardless if Bulgarian or American, are NATO's," he said,
adding that the stationing of military equipment is solely for
defensive purposes.

Plevneliev further said that the Defence Ministry will make
efforts to modernize the existing aircraft and extend their
service life.

The President and Commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian Army
attended the closing stage of the Kabile-2015 tactical military
training at Novo Selo for the certification of Sixth Battalion
Combat Group with the Bulgarian Land Forces. The exercise
included some 810 servicemen from the Bulgarian and US armies
and up to 190 units of equipment, including tanks, armoured
personnel carriers, combat and special equipment and aircraft.
Plevneliev congratulated the servicemen from the Battalion
Group, noting that the certification is the result of many years
of hard work.
He also congratulated the Army on the agreement for military
cooperation with Germany.

Chief of Defence Vice Admiral Roumen Nikolov said that two
American tanks are participating in the exercise, which is less
than planned. Bulgaria is part of NATO and these machines must
not be seen as foreign equipment, he noted. The tanks will
remain on Bulgarian territory until the end of the month, while
different military equipment will be present during future
exercises, Nikolov explained.