site.btaPresident Receives Military University Cadets

President Rumen Radev received cadets from the Vasil Levski National Military University of Veliko Tarnovo, the President's Press Secretariat reported on Friday.

Radev said in a speech that it takes skilled and confident officers to maintain the defence capabilities and the morale of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. In addition to the country's strong military tradition, he highlighted the efforts of the latest caretaker government to speed up the upgrading of the Land Forces.

According to the President, the conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Caucasus have shown how contemporary technology is changing warfare and the ways of achieving asymmetric dominance, and this should be reflected in the Armed Forces Modernization Strategy.

Radev said: "Over the years, we have been focused on large and costly projects: jet fighters, combat vehicles for the infantry, ships. It is equally important to implement financially more affordable projects which will have a major effect on the battlefield, such as unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare systems and surveillance and intelligence networks which can connect everything into a single information space and counter expensive and dangerous systems in fast and cheap ways."

Radev expressed his confidence that young officers will play a key role in upgrading the Armed Forces. He argued that the drive to achieve the necessary level of interoperability with the partners in NATO should go hand in hand with care for the personnel and its motivation.

November 17 is Land Forces Day and the 138th anniversary of the Battle of Slivnitsa.