The Bulgarian defense industry provides over 4 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024. This was stated by the Minister of Economy and Industry Petar Dilov in the program "120 minutes" on bTV, quoted by novini.bg
According to Dilov, the export of military products is increasing from 650 million euros in 2021 to 2.8 billion euros in 2024. For the period 2022-2024, our country's revenues from exports of defense-related products amount to 13 billion leva. The defense industry currently employs over 70,000 people, with the trend of increasing employment in the sector, the minister pointed out.
The main reason for this growth in exports of defense-related products is the war between Ukraine and Russia, which provoked the demand for Soviet-type shells, which turned Bulgaria into a major supplier of this type of weaponry. As a result, the revenues of the state-owned arms factory VMZ-Sopot are expected to exceed 1 billion leva in the current year 2025, it became known from the words of Petar Dilov.
For comparison, before the war, the revenues of VMZ-Sopot amounted to 191 million leva for 2021.
According to the minister, over 5,000 people work at VMZ-Sopot, and in the last year alone the number of employees has increased by 350 people.
According to data from the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the average gross salary at VMZ-Sopot is 2,500 leva.
The agreed joint venture between Bulgaria and the German "Rheinmetall", which envisages the construction of two factories in our country, will allow Bulgaria to enter the supply chains of the countries from NATO, it became known from Dilov's words.
"There are contracts for dual training signed with both the Technical University in Sofia and its branch in Plovdiv. It is important to ensure the livelihood of the region, we expect people from different regions to be attracted," added Dilov regarding the provision of new jobs that will be created as a result of the investment.