site.btaNavy Commander Mihailov: First Multi-Role Vessel Will Be Commissioned in 2025

At the end of 2025, the first of the new multi-roles vessels for the Navy will be commissioned, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihailov said.

This year marks the 145th anniversary of the Bulgarian Navy. Traditionally, seamen mark the occasion with a series of initiatives in Ruse, Burgas and Varna. On the occasion of the anniversary, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) talked to the Commander of the Navy Rear Admiral Kiril Mihailov. According to him, the first of the fleet's new multi-role vessels will be commissioned at the end of 2025 and the second in the beginning of 2027.

Rear Admiral Mihailov said that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Navy has received more than 60 signals of detected mine-like or drifting sea mines. Six such mines have been destroyed and more than 30 missile shrapnel have been found and recovered from the water. Mihailov added that from the beginning of next year the command of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasure Task Group (MCM Black Sea) will be taken over by Bulgaria.

The Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of MCM Black Sea is for a term of three years. If none of the participating countries notifies the others of its withdrawal three months before its expiry, it will be automatically extended for a new three-year period.

There is also a shortage of personnel in the navy, Mihailov said. He said the understaffing among officers is the highest at more than 20%. The Navy Commander specified that approximately 15% of the Navy's personnel are women, with 18% of them appointed to officer positions.

The Navy has not given up on rebuilding submarine forces. One of the Navy's projects is to acquire submarines and a way is being sought to secure funding and a suitable supplier. This process is not quick and will take several years to implement. However, Bulgaria should not lag behind its allies and should not give in to aggressor states by leaving Bulgarian maritime spaces without the reliable protection and deterrent role of submarines.