At the end of this week, a summit of the leaders of the European Union member states was held, at which the common defense policy was discussed. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov declared that the aspiration is to upgrade the Bulgarian defense industry and to become an exporter of production. We all know about the production of Kalashnikovs and shells, in which our weapons complex specializes.
Today we will show you what jammers produced in Bulgaria are capable of, which interfere with remote explosive devices. You will see unique footage of an attempted attack on the border with Egypt, prevented with just such a device. Our companies produce reconnaissance drones and kamikaze drones, which hit targets 100 kilometers away. And are they in service with the Bulgarian army, asks "Nova TV".
For 80 years, Europe has lived in peace. After World War II, the old continent is in ruins. And the European Union is being created as the most grandiose project for peace, which should turn mortal enemies into partners and like-minded people.
However, the Russian attack on Ukraine brought Europe back to reality. And the realization that if we want peace to last longer, we must arm ourselves. The battles on the front between the Ukrainian and Russian armies changed the ideas about conventional war. Drones have become one of the most successful means of waging modern combat.
A factory in Samokov produces kamikaze-type drones. They are controlled from the ground with a special console. They are equipped with a camera and can carry up to three kilograms of explosives, making them deadly machines.
The company also specializes in the production of radio jammers. These devices are installed on cars, and their signals prevent any bombs from being remotely activated.
Radio jammers, produced in Bulgaria, are also installed on military equipment. An example is a case from one of the border crossings in Egypt. A car approaches the post. The driver gets out of the car and runs away. The security forces realize that there is a bomb in the car. The tank tries to defuse it by crushing the bomber's car. Immediately behind it is the armored vehicle on which the radio jammer is installed. It is he who prevents the bomber from remotely activating the bomb. The tank passes through the car and withdraws. The armored vehicle with the radio jammer installed also moves away.
Peter Georgiev agrees to show the company's production base, where the reconnaissance drones are assembled. Georgi Smirnov is the head of the special production department. He was born in Crimea, but has lived in Bulgaria for years.
Armored vehicles intended for the army's special operations forces are also produced in Samokov.
During his 40 years in the arms sales business, Petar Georgiev also encountered Russian Viktor Bout. Known by the nickname "The Merchant of Death", he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to murder American citizens in 2011. After spending 10 years behind bars in the American prison of Marion, Viktor Bout was exchanged for basketball player Britney Griner. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison in Russia after being caught with less than a quart of cannabis oil at Sheremetyevo Airport.
The European Union has launched an unprecedented defense program worth a whopping 800 billion euros. How much of this money can be earmarked for our country and directed to the Bulgarian defense industry is still unclear. And the kamikaze drones, reconnaissance devices and radio jammers produced in Samokov continue to be sold abroad, and not used in the Bulgarian army.