Bulgaria is about 15 years late in building capabilities to counter drones. This was stated in the “Interview of the Day“ on bTV by Prof. Rumen Kanchev, former Deputy Minister of Defense.
In his words, our country must urgently realize that the way modern wars are fought is changing radically.
His comment comes against the backdrop of another explosion at a weapons factory in our country and the incident with a drone near the Bulgarian-Romanian border.
Regarding the explosion at the “Emko“ of Emilian Gebrev near Belitsa, Prof. Kanchev said that it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions about the causes of the incident, as the investigation is just beginning. He pointed out that according to the information from the plant director, the video surveillance system is working and the recordings can provide a basis for establishing the causes.
„He said that these were shells that were stored separately from the charges. The shells are stored in some boxes, and the charge, which is the gunpowder, is placed in other boxes. So it could probably be that a box with charges was set on fire“, explained Prof. Kanchev.
According to him, the causes could be different – from human error to external intervention or actions of a competitor. He also questioned the speed with which the version of external intervention was rejected.
„Obviously, our system for external intervention is already working great, since in the second minute the Minister of the Interior already knows what the reason is and that there is no external intervention“, commented Prof. Kanchev.
According to him, it is possible that the incident near Belitsa can be considered in a broader context, but evidence is needed for this.
Prof. Kanchev recalled that Bulgaria's arms industry plays an important role in the supply of ammunition to Ukraine.
„The Ukrainians themselves do not hide it, especially at higher levels, that Bulgaria, so to speak, almost saved them in the first months of the war by supplying them with these weapons – shells for 122 and 152 mm howitzers, which are produced here“, he said.
Prof. Kanchev warned that Bulgaria is in a difficult situation due to the conflicts near the country.
“I have this feeling – I may be wrong, it is even better if I am wrong – that they somehow still think that we are not at war, that there is no war around us, that things are so calm“, he said.
However, according to him, the situation is different.
“2100 km from Iran we have a serious conflict. In addition, Iran has serious ballistic missiles that can reach our territory. On the other side, 500-800 km away, is another military conflict, so we are in an extremely difficult situation“, said Prof. Kanchev, emphasizing that the entire eastern flank of NATO is in a similar situation.
According to Prof. Kanchev, the Bulgarian government is trying to pursue a complex policy that is simultaneously in the interests of Bulgaria, the European Union and NATO, but also not to irritate Russia.
In his words, this policy can create chaos when implemented by inexperienced people.
He gave as examples Bulgaria's positions on the “Coalition of the Willing“ and participation in the construction of an integrated anti-missile system for Europe.
The conversation also raised the question of how prepared Bulgaria is for the threats from drones.
“We are 15 years late. In my opinion, the problem with drones should have been identified long ago,“ he was categorical.
According to him, modern conflicts show that traditional ideas about war are no longer sufficient and Bulgaria must adapt to new threats.