site.btaRepresentatives of Political, Military Leadership of Defence Ministry Meet Senior US Armed Forces Officers

Deputy Minister of Defence Radostin Iliev and Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Krassimir Kanev held meetings with senior US officers from the US National Defense University who have graduated from the CAPSTONE course on Friday. Their visit to Bulgaria is part of their European familiarization visit related to the future duties of the newly produced generals and admirals, the press centre of the Ministry of Defence said.

Deputy Minister Iliev briefed the senior American officers on the priorities of the Ministry of Defence leadership in the field of defence policy and confirmed Bulgaria's desire to continue to build on and develop the established strategic cooperation in the field between Bulgaria and the United States. 

He stressed that as a result of the joint efforts to acquire new capabilities for the Bulgarian Air Force, the first Bulgarian F-16 Block 70 aircraft, manufactured in the USA, are expected to arrive in Bulgaria in April 2025. Emphasis was also placed on the importance of the annual joint Bulgarian-US exercises and training in enhancing the interoperability of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. In this context, the readiness of the Bulgarian side to continue to work for the implementation of the ongoing joint activities and projects in the framework of bilateral defence cooperation, which are of mutual interest both for Bulgaria and the United States and for enhancing regional and European security, was expressed.

During the meeting of the Deputy Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Krassimir Kanev with the senior American officers, he noted that they are expected to occupy key positions in the NATO allied structures and the US commands in Europe, and it is of utmost importance for the continuation of good cooperation in the military field that they are familiar with the specifics of NATO's South-Eastern flank and in particular in the Black Sea region. The Deputy Chief of Defence briefed the guests on the Bulgarian military approach to planning and execution of tasks in the Alliance format. Among the topics discussed were the state of the Bulgarian Armed Forces and their modernization process. Lieutenant General Kanev pointed out the challenges facing the Bulgarian Army in acquiring and mastering the new systems and platforms and underlined the efforts made by the Bulgarian side to integrate them faster into the collective deterrence and defence system.

Within the framework of the visit of the American delegation to the Ministry of Defence, meetings are also planned with the commanders of the Ground Forces and the Air Force, Major General Deyan Deshkov and Major General Dimitar Petrov, as well as with representatives of key directorates in the Ministry.