Defense against drones and cruise missiles: Bulgaria joins NATO initiative
Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov signed the accession note to a project against low-flying threats below 150 meters. Participation costs 220,000 euros a year.
Symbolic image · Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov on Friday signed a note on Bulgaria's accession to a NATO initiative to develop capabilities against low-flying aerial threats. The country is joining a memorandum of cooperation between the defense ministers of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Romania, Sweden and Türkiye. The aim is more effective protection against threats flying below 150 meters – cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and glide bombs.
The project covers detecting, identifying, tracking and countering such threats and will proceed along two lines: joint procurement and joint capability development. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) will survey the market and compile a catalog of existing and near-ready technologies, where Bulgarian industry can present its products.
The Council of Ministers approved the accession earlier this week, and the note now goes to the National Assembly for ratification. According to Stoyanov, the project runs for three years and requires a mandatory annual contribution of 220,000 euros.