site.btaPresident Radev Discusses Bulgarian Army Modernization with German Defence Corporation CEO

President Rumen Radev met with the CEO of the German defence corporation Diehl Defence, Helmut Rauch, at the President's Administration in Sofia to discuss the modernization of the Bulgarian Army as part of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), the presidential press secretariat said here on Thursday.

German Ambassador to Bulgaria Irene Plank was also present at the meeting. During the talks, Radev brought up the topic of expanding partnership opportunities with the German company, focusing on industrial cooperation and technology transfer.

In early September, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius signed an agreement to jointly purchase IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile systems. This agreement aligns with the Memorandum of Understanding on the joint purchase of ground-based air defence systems within the framework of ESSI.