site.btaUPDATED Parliament Approves Acquisition of 183 Stryker Combat Vehicles

Parliament Thursday voted, 134-55 with two abstentions, to approve an investment expenditure project for the acquisition of 198 combat and service vehicles needed for the formation of mechanized-battalion-size battlegroups.

The decision was backed by GERB-UDF, Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. Two Socialist deputies abstained and the rest of BSP for Bulgaria voted against, as did There Is Such a People and Vazrazhdane.

The report by the lead parliamentary committee says that the project is related to this country’s commitment to collective defence. It will help improve interoperability and technical compatibility with the armed forces of the NATO member states, and will reduce critical dependence on countries outside NATO and the EU in the field of armament.

The estimated project implementation cost is USD 1.376 billion (equivalent to USD 2,504,320,000) before VAT. Of this, USD 1.210 billion (BGN 2.02 billion pre-VAT) is for the acquisition of 198 vehicles. The cost for artillery and small arms is estimated at USD 65 million (BGN 118. 3 million) and for Javelin anti-tank guided missiles at USD 101 million (BGN 183.8 million). The Ministry of Defence is yet to receive draft contracts for the last two projects in 2024.

Payment under the draft contract and the two future contracts for procurement of ammunition is to be effected over five years, and the first installment should be remitted in 2023.

The principal contractor will be General Dynamics Land Systems of Anniston, Alabama.

The 198 vehicles to be acquired include combat, reconnaissance and command and staff machines, special machines for nuclear, chemical and biological reconnaissance, medical evacuation, engineering support, transport and evacuation machines. Of these, 183 are Stryker family combat vehicles. The remaining 15 are auxiliary trucks. The proposed lead time for production and delivery of the machines is approximately 36 months from the award of the production contract by the US Army.

The vehicles are to be delivered between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2028. The bulk of the equipment will arrive in 2026 and 2027, at a rate of ten vehicles per month.

The project contains opportunities for industrial cooperation, technology transfer and capability creation at Terem Holding EAD in Bulgaria for the assembly and repair of Stryker vehicles, divided into four phases, with one of the phases providing for the development of machine overhaul capability, modification and combat damage repair capability, as well as the development of a regional Stryker maintenance centre, with the capability to maintain US Army vehicles based in Europe, and vehicles of other European countries. The project also provides for the inclusion of Bulgarian companies in General Dynamics' global supply chain.

According to the draft international treaty BU-B-UCP, whose ratification will be submitted to Parliament after the adoption of this decision, the payment is to be made over a period of 5 years until 2027. The payment scheme has been agreed in advance with the Finance Ministry. BGN 479.3 million is envisaged to be spent for the project in 2023.