Unmanned aircraft systems are becoming increasingly important in the development of modern defence capabilities, said President Rumen Radev here on Thursday. He was speaking at an award ceremony for the winners of the Land Forces' Hawk Eye 2025 unmanned aerial vehicle operator competition, held under his auspices. The event took place at the Land Forces' Lyulyak training centre near Stara Zagora.
"The combination of high technical characteristics and accuracy with low financial cost and accessibility has enabled drones to successfully reconnoiter, observe, target, and strike with remarkable accuracy, including moving targets such as manpower, armored vehicles, and naval vessels," Radev emphasized. The rapid introduction of unmanned systems in the war in Ukraine has dramatically changed the nature of modern warfare," the head of State said, adding that drones now dominate military operations.
Radev stressed that the two warring sides are intensively changing and improving their technical capabilities, tactics, and doctrinal development. They are creating new types of troops based precisely on unmanned systems.
According to the President, Bulgaria is behind schedule in acquiring, commissioning, and developing doctrine for these important modern capabilities. However, he expressed satisfaction with the progress in the development and introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Bulgarian army. "I believe that this is a good foundation on which our Land Forces will build truly modern defence capabilities. These capabilities are set to develop rapidly, and we must make every effort to continuously adapt and improve in all necessary areas," he commented.
Radev emphasized that the competition he watched on Thursday was extremely important for the development of the Land Forces and the Bulgarian Army. He stated that he would like to see drones capable of striking targets, as well as those that can provide logistical support, at the next competition in 2026.
The Commander-in-Chief commented that he would like to see simplified procedures so that the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Staff can interact more fully with the domestic defence industry and science, which have already demonstrated their capabilities and have great potential. "Because it is best to have domestic production and development that you can modernize," Radev added.
/KK/
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