site.btaPresident Calls for Navy Modernization Processes, Already in Progress, to Continue Unabated

President Rumen Radev called for the started modernization processes in the Naval Forces to continue at an unabated pace. On Friday, President Rumen Radev, Deputy Minister of Defence Radostin Iliev and Rear Admiral and Commander of the Bulgarian Navy Kiril Mihailov gave a press conference on board the frigate Drazki in the waters of the Black Sea on the occasion of the Breeze 2024 national naval exercise.

"Our personnel have shown that they can handle any situation and work with any equipment," Radev said, noting that they deserve even more modern equipment and even better conditions.

He explained that the role of the Black Sea as an intersection of geopolitical, economic and energy interests is constantly growing. "We must have a reliable and modern Navy and an established system of interaction with all governmental and non-governmental organizations, with the local authority on the ground so that Bulgaria can defend its interests and its position as a maritime country," the President said.

"Everything possible is being provided at this stage," Radostin Iliev answered the question of whether funds have been provided to begin the improvement of the infrastructure of the Chayka Naval Air Base in Varna." The horizon of the caretaker cabinet is short. These are questions that will be resolved in months, and some of them - next year," Iliev pointed out.

The Mine Counter-measures Task Group Black Sea (MCM Black Sea), established by Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkiye in January, is ready for work, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihailov said. "I am extremely pleased that Bulgaria provided an opportunity for the group to prepare and train during the Breeze 2024 exercise", Rear Admiral Mihailov added.

The 2024 Breeze naval exercise includes 23 combat and auxiliary ships and cutters, three aircraft, two helicopters and 2,330 military personnel from the naval forces of Bulgaria, Belgium, Great Britain, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, USA, Turkiye, France, as well as from NATO's Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), MCM Black Sea, the NATO Naval Mine Warfare Centre Of Excellence (NMW COE), the NATO Force Integration Unit in Bulgaria (NFIU) and the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre.