Fighter jets over Burgas: Army steps up patrols as partners inspect “Chelsea 3”
Low-flying military jets have unsettled residents of Burgas and Nesebar. Foreign specialists have joined the investigation into the damaged freighter in Burgas port.
Archive image · Photo: Joe W. McFadden, U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Residents of Burgas, Nesebar and Sveti Vlas reported low-flying military aircraft and fighter jets on Wednesday. According to the defence ministry, F-16, MiG-29, Su-25 and L-39 aircraft are carrying out surveillance, reconnaissance and airspace control over Bulgaria's territorial waters. The aim is to increase security in the country's air and maritime space, the ministry said. Additional ground surveillance and air defence assets have also been deployed, and the flights will continue in the coming days.
Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said a third unmanned system would join the surveillance of the Black Sea. “Yesterday the first flights with it were made in Bulgaria,” he told BNT. The system is to be deployed to the Black Sea coast by the end of the week and will be operated by the Bulgarian armed forces.
In Burgas port, specialists from partner services have joined the investigation into the damaged freighter “Chelsea 3”; their countries were not disclosed. An explosives assessment has been ordered to determine what type of explosive was used. Investigators are looking for debris from aerial and unmanned sea drones, Stoyanov said, adding that more information would follow once the inspections were complete.