site.bta"If Economically Affordable, State Must Spend 2.5% of GDP on Defence" - Minister

"If Economically Affordable, State Must Spend 2.5% of GDP on Defence" - Minister
"If Economically Affordable, State Must Spend 2.5% of GDP on Defence" - Minister
Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov at a hearing of the parliamentary Defence Committee, Sofia, February 5, 2025 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

"I insist on setting aside 2.5% of GDP for defence, if the State can afford this economically," Bulgarian Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said during a hearing at the parliamentary Defence Committee on Wednesday.

"At the end of last year, we verged on 2%," Zapryanov said, adding that accelerated modernization cannot be expected at this level and the spending should not fall below 2%.

Less than a week ago, Bulgaria has received the first of 16 contracted F-16 Block 70 aircraft was formally handed over to Bulgaria at Lockheed Martin's production facility in Greenville, South Carolina,

"We managed to catch up, I think we won't have a problem receiving the jets in April," Zapryanov said, asked about the readiness of the Graf Ignatievo Air Force Base (South Central Bulgaria) to accommodate the new fighter planes. "Some projects, however, are making slow progress. There is a delay in the construction of the building that will house the simulators. The contract for the building was signed in 2020, and we have been assured that it will be finished by the end of July. The simulators themselves have been built and are in storage in the US," the Defence Minister explained.

Meeting on Wednesday, the Defence Committee voted, 10-0 with five abstentions, to approve a Billl to Ratify a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) BU-P-LBI on Procurement of Communications Security Equipment under the US Foreign Military Sales Programme.

The international contract has been drafted in connection with the implementation of a project for the acquisition of a multi-role modular patrol vessel for the Bulgarian Navy, the reasoning of the bill says. Once the contract is performed, the Navy will acquire communications security capabilities and will be able to engage in secure interchange of tactical data with Allied ship platforms and aircraft by means of on-board Link 22 systems.

/LG/

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By 19:53 on 05.02.2025 Today`s news

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