site.btaPersonnel, Military Equipment To Be Transported Through Bulgaria's Territory for Participation in NATO Exercises

Personnel and military equipment will be transported through the territory of Bulgaria to participate in the largest NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 25 (STDT25), the press centre of the Ministry of Defence announced Friday. The Ministry specified that the passage of participants in the exercise from Greece to Romania will last from Friday until February 9, via the national road and rail infrastructure.

The crossing shall take place on a fixed schedule on different days of the specified period. Military motorcades are guarded and escorted by Military Police Service teams. At the end of the exercise, the participants will cross back from Romania to return to their permanent deployment points.

STDT25 is NATO's largest exercise for 2025 with a real deployment of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF), which will take place on the territories of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania in the first quarter of 2025. About 10,000 troops from nine allied countries - Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turkiye and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - are taking part. The aim of the exercise is to test Allied Response Force (ARF) capabilities and deployment procedures, interoperability between participants and host countries. The exercise demonstrates NATO's unity, resolve and strength to defend the freedom and territorial integrity of member states, common values and the international rule of law, the Ministry added. 

Transportation of personnel and military equipment through the territory of Bulgaria is also envisaged in connection with the rotation of participants in the NATO Multinational Battle Group, with Italy as the host country.