site.btaDefence Ministry to Revise Its 2032 Investment Programme

Defence Minister Todor Tagarev Friday told journalists that there will be changes to his Ministry’s 2032 investment programme. “We have one more month to work on this programme. There will be changes. Some projects will be prioritized, others will be left for the future. One or two projects may be dropped,” Tagarev said, adding that no final decisions have been made yet.

He said that drones are expected to be supplied for the Armed Forces. “The Bulgarian Armed Forces uses drones. There are two public procurement procedures and contracts signed for different types of drones for the Land Forces in particular.  Such autonomous vehicles or remotely piloted vehicles with artificial intelligence systems will certainly find a place in the programme,” Tagarev said.

Asked to confirm that a new partner country is joining the multinational battle group, Tagarev said he would rather wait for that country to officially announces it first. “This will help to broaden the battle group to a brigade level with some 5,000 troops when needed. We have about 1,000 troops from allied countries, if the situation remains as it is, we are unlikely to need more than 1,500,” he explained.

The Defence Minister Friday took part in the Winning the Peace in Ukraine international conference organized by Sofia Security Forum with the assistance of the US Embassy in Bulgaria.