The Parliament approved a project submitted by the Council of Ministers for investment expenditure for the acquisition of seven new three-coordinate radars. The proposal was voted with 186 votes "for", three votes "against" and without "abstains".
The investment cost project is worth up to 195 million euros and was prepared on the basis of a draft contract for the acquisition of a framework agreement between the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria and the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France, it is written in the explanatory memorandum to the project.
The acquisition of new three-coordinate radars is among the main priorities set in the Development Plan of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria until 2026 and in the Program for the Development of the Defense Capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria until 2032. The goal of the project is to develop the capabilities for monitoring airspace with ground-based active radar assets, ensuring Bulgaria's air sovereignty and fulfilling the country's allied commitments in NATO, it is also stated in the explanatory memorandum.
Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov explained to the deputies that it is a question of two the contract - the first is between Bulgaria and the French Ministry of Defense, and the second is between the Ministry of Defense and the company "Thales". It is extremely necessary to obtain approval from the National Assembly and then sign the contracts, which must be ratified by the parliament, Stoyanov specified.
Bogdan Bogdanov from "We Continue the Change" said that Bulgaria has managed to modernize a significant part of its ammunition and technical equipment thanks to the programs to support Ukraine.
It is not true that the Bulgarian army is being modernized with money from Ukraine. These funds come from the state budget, the minister replied.
We will not support this project for investment expenditure, because we insist on Bulgarian production in the field of defense, said Ivelin Parvanov from "Vazrazhdane". According to him, Bulgaria has fully competitive products in the field of defense, but Bulgarian companies are not allowed to participate in competitions.
The radars are purchased under the European SAFE mechanism. I assume that a Bulgarian company could have participated, but in order to do so under the SAFE mechanism, it must have a contract with the Bulgarian government, and such a company has not expressed a desire and does not have such a contract, Minister Stoyanov replied.
We will support this decision, although delays and cost increases have accumulated in recent years, said Atanas Slavov from "Democratic Bulgaria". The acquisition of this new capability is key to operating the new F-16 Block 70 aircraft and fully participating in the collective defense of NATO and the EU, he added. It is important to support common European decisions when it comes to defense. We cannot afford not to support Ukraine, because this is a common European interest, Slavov also pointed out.
Georg Georgiev from GERB-SDF said that this decision is the right step and is an action that will complete a multi-year cycle. The acquisition of the radars is a function of the trust that Bulgaria has built in order to fulfill its tasks, he added.
Yesterday, the investment expenditure project was also adopted by the parliamentary defense committee.