Two key projects for the modernization of our army are being discussed in the Defense Committee - for coastal anti-ship missile complexes and the agreement with Italy on military facilities near Kabylie.
The complexes themselves - mobile fire control centers, launchers, transport-loading vehicles, anti-ship missiles, training - will cost about 176 million € excluding VAT. And about three million euros - the information exchange equipment.
The money will come from national funding. The initial option - to use the EU's SAFE rearmament loan - was not preferred because the contract would be government-to-government, it became clear from the words of the resigned Minister Atanas Zapryanov.
The main payments are scheduled for 2029-2030, and the implementation deadline is until 2030.
At the end of last year, the chairman of the GERB defense committee, Hristo Gadzhev, admitted that the delivery of the new coastal missile systems could fail due to a US offer expiring in February.
The agreement with Italy for new military facilities in Kabile is also being submitted to parliament.
The construction will be in two stages - first for temporary, and subsequently for permanent deployment of the battle group.
If necessary, there will be over 3,000 people there to protect NATO's eastern flank. No storage of ammunition or hazardous materials is planned.