Scientific conferences and a number of meetings marked the XVII defense equipment exhibition “HEMUS 2026“, which was held on the territory of the Plovdiv Fair. The Czech Republic set a record by attending with 18 companies. On Bulgarian soil, they demonstrated their latest developments in the field of aviation, robotics, unmanned systems, communications, defense technologies and armored equipment.
The Czech participation in “Hemus 2026“ is a record for the last three decades. It clearly shows the increased interest of the Czech defense industry in cooperation with Bulgarian partners.
„Bulgaria and the Czech Republic are strategic partners in the European Union and NATO. We see that there is great potential in the cooperation of our defense industries in the field of high-tech defense and weapons systems“, said Michal Oravec from the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic.
„Historically, the Bulgarian army and defense industry are linked to the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. Even today, the Bulgarian Air Force uses the Czech L-39 training fighter," said H.E. Mr. Miroslav Toman, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Bulgaria.
The development of new technologies for the needs of defense, the role of scientific research and Bulgaria's participation in European and allied projects were among the main topics of the XIII International Scientific Conference “Scientific Research, Technologies and Innovations for Defense and Security“.
“In the modern defense industry, the boundary between scientific research and the final product is becoming smaller. New solutions in the field of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum technologies, cybersecurity, new materials start precisely from laboratories and research teams. That is why the success of any national defense industrial policy depends on our ability to transform scientific achievements into real products and real capabilities“, said Katerina Gramatikova, Deputy Minister of Defense.
The conference continued with the presentation of more than 60 scientific reports. The topics were related to weapons and combat systems, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and military-political aspects of defense.
The exhibition ended with real demonstrations in front of citizens and guests of the exhibition. Among the highlights of the demonstrations this year were unmanned platforms for reconnaissance and surveillance. The Vector AI drone of the German company Quantum Systems was presented - an aerial reconnaissance system designed to collect information in real time and assist the command in planning and conducting operations. Demonstrations of unmanned attack systems of the “kamikaze“ type also aroused serious interest. This class of weapons is increasingly significantly changing the modern combat environment, combining reconnaissance capabilities and the ability to precisely hit targets at a considerable distance.
Here's what the companies showed at this year's exhibition in photos:
