site.btaBulgaria's 86th Special Forces Group Participate in International Military Exercise in North Macedonia

Units from the 86th Special Forces Group of Bulgaria's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) participated in the international military exercise of the Special Operations Forces of the Balkan States (Β-9 CJSE), Wise Wolf 24, held from November 4 to 15 in North Macedonia, the Ministry of Defence reported on Friday. The exercise involved special forces from North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkiye and military observers from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The goal of the exercise was to improve the operational abilities and cooperation between the special forces from these countries, focusing on planning and carrying out joint special operations in a multinational environment.

During the exercise, teams practiced tasks like tactical operations, sniper training, special medical training and engineering skills. Special emphasis was placed on training for long-range sniper shooting and insertion using various models of helicopters, including CH-47 Chinook (Greece and Turkiye), UH-60 Black Hawk (Turkiye), IAR-330 Puma (Romania) and Mi-17 (North Macedonia).

On Thursday, a demonstration day was held at the Krivolak training range for high-ranking guests of the Wise Wolf-24, with the participation of JSOC Deputy Commander Col. Ivan Raykov. Among the observers of the demonstration part were the Minister of Defence of the Republic of North Macedonia Vlado Misajlovski and the Chief of Defence of the North Macedonia Major General Sashko Lafchiski, generals and officers from special operations commands and formations from the B-9 initiative countries, military attaches. 

During the exercise, participants demonstrated a joint special operation (CJSO) to the distinguished guests. The operation involved both ground and air special operations groups. The demonstration included air and ground infiltration, deployment in the operation area, special reconnaissance, direct action against a key strategic target, hostage rescue, securing and holding a high-priority target, explosive ordnance disposal, medical evacuation, and exfiltration of teams from the operation area.

The B-9 CJSE initiative for joint special operations exercises was launched in 2011 to build trust and cooperation among the special forces of Balkan countries. These exercises take place every year on a rotating basis in one of the participating countries.