A successful year for the army and the beginning of the real modernization of the armed forces. This was said in the festive program "Day of Courage - May 6" on BNT by the acting Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov and congratulated the military personnel on the occasion of May 6 - the Day of Courage and the holiday of the Bulgarian Army.
He emphasized what was achieved over the past year.
„First of all, I would like to congratulate all military personnel and civilian employees of the armed forces on the Day of Courage and the Bulgarian Army. Let me thank them for working hard over the past year, achieving all the tasks in combat training, maintaining combat readiness, and last but not least, we have successfully begun to master the new combat systems, new aircraft, and new ships and machines "Stryker" in the brigade in Karlovo. We are sending off a successful year, in which we laid the foundations for the real modernization of the armed forces.“
Zapryanov also commented on the reason for there being no military parade this year.
„Because we are in conditions of an extended budget, we do not have a real budget to organize a large parade with equipment and personnel, so we limited ourselves to only blessing the battle flags.“
The Minister of Defense expressed hope that next year the conditions will allow for a larger-scale celebration of the holiday.
„I hope that the new minister, the new government will have a very good budget that will ensure the development of the armed forces and their manning, and that next year there will also be a parade with military equipment.“
Zapryanov explained that in the last two years military spending has been slightly above 2%
“In the report for 2025 it is 2.13. However, our analyses show that the minimum budget that is needed in 2026 and is set in the National Plan for increasing spending by 2035 to 5% - 3.5% for capabilities and 1.5% for industrial development and additional activities, is 2.36 for 2026 and from there on the budget should increase annually to 3.5% in 2035. We are a plan-project for increasing the budget.“
Regarding salaries in the sector, Zapryanov added that salaries can be updated according to economic indicators. He also commented that social benefits play a key role.
„I must admit that it is very difficult for the Minister of Defense to balance the costs of personnel with the costs of modernization of the armed forces and, on the other hand, the crystal-structural construction.“
The Minister also commented on the return of conscription, a topic that is being discussed in society.
„When we talk about conscription in all countries that are returning it, they do so in different forms. The war in Ukraine shows that in a long-term conflict it is important to have a mobilization resource, to have prepared people. Without conscription, professional military personnel are not enough to form wartime formations. The big question is how Bulgaria will approach the issue of the reserve. My opinion is – "Let's first staff the professional military forces, and then think about increasing the mobilization reserves."