Among the things for which GERB must be held most accountable is the chaos in the modernization of our armed forces. This can be traced both in the budgets that Borisov's party allocates for defense, and in personnel decisions and the appointment of obedient ministers and senior officers, but most of all in the chaos in terms of rearming the branches of the armed forces.
When Boyko Borisov's party took power in 2009, the state had already begun to neglect defense. The years of economic growth, mixed with the restoration of security in the region and Bulgaria's admission to the collective security system - NATO, are having their effect. In 2002, when it became clear that we would become members of the defense union from 2004, the budget allocated defense funds equal to 2.4 percent of the projected gross domestic product for the year. In the last year of economic growth under the triple coalition - in 2008, 1.8 percent of the gross domestic product was allocated.
This trend could easily be reversed with a simple decision - to order new fighters for the Air Force, and in fact the triple coalition government is starting to listen to the issue. At that time, I was a junior reporter in one of the prestigious publications of the time and we received an invitation from “SAAB Industrial Corporation“ to get acquainted with the advantages of the fighters they produce - „Gripen“.
At that time, the debate was already underway about which was better for rearmament - „Gripen“ or „F-16“. It was commented that some machines were more suitable for air combat, while others were multifunctional and could also strike ground targets. Some were much more unpretentious in terms of maintenance and landing conditions, while others required special infrastructure, which further increased their cost. All this was in addition to the basic question of which machine in itself was more suitable for the needs of Bulgaria.
I remember how during my lunch break, in the garden of „Kristal“, I saw the former Chief of the General Staff Miho Mihov, who was also a retired fighter pilot. I approached him directly, told him that he had given a speech at my oath as a conscript, and in a purely human way I asked his opinion on which machine was more suitable.
What the general told me, I will keep to myself, because he did not authorize me to quote him, but it soon became clear that the dilemma was not a simple comparison between two machines.
The scales were being weighed against brand new fighters from Sweden against American ones that were the same age as the “MiG-29“, which needed to be replaced. The Swedes offered an offset, in which part of the money that the state paid would be returned in the form of investments in some enterprise. The Americans did not offer an offset.
More or less at this level of conversation, things froze with the onset of the global financial crisis.
In 2009, GERB came to power. Obsessed with the mantra of highways and infrastructure, Borisov's people continued to neglect the armed forces to an unprecedented extent. They appointed people without expertise and authority as ministers. People who were ready to execute and not raise their voices. As a result, in GERB's first full budget - for 2010 - 1.4 percent of the expected gross domestic product is allocated for defense. For 2015, the first year of the "Borisov 2" cabinet, only 1.1 percent of the gross domestic product is allocated for defense.
This is the year in which the knife came to the bone. The pilots flying the "MiG-29" fighter jets refused to take off, claiming that the machines were insufficiently maintained. Then the commander of the Air Force, Major General Rumen Radev, stood by his people and even resigned. After a conversation with Prime Minister Borisov, he withdrew his report. Money was found for some repair work and the topic was revived, although still on the periphery of the public debate. In 2016, Rumen Radev resigned again, but this time decisively, not as an ultimatum, and began his political odyssey - from president to prime minister.
Appointing his first caretaker government - that of Ognyan Gerdzhikov, in 2017 Rumen Radev reopened the topic of acquiring new fighters. Competitions were organized that led to the selection of the “Gripen“, and only the formation of Borisov's third government cut the deal. At that time, the dilemma had crystallized even more clearly.
New Swedish fighters against old American ones, albeit with somewhat updated electronics. How much exactly, the general public will not know. All that is remembered is that the now former President Rosen Plevneliev and all the sycophants of the United States began to talk about the fact that the choice of a new fighter should be subject to political considerations, not military expertise. This meant ignoring the voice of the military, who wanted the “Gripen“, and imposing the “F-16“. The argument was: Sweden is not a member of NATO, and the United States is our ally in the collective security system.
The institutional opposition between the presidential institution and the government led to an improvement in the American offer. In 2018, we were offered new “F-16“ fighters, which had yet to be produced in a factory that had also yet to be built. The Swedish supplier offered installment payments and the first fighters to arrive in the second year after the contract was signed. The Americans wanted to be paid all at once, in advance, and the machines to arrive in a few years.
Along with the refrain “choose American at all costs“, the second direction of profanation began to develop. The Russian “MiG-29“ fighters began to be presented as something bad. The fact that they were produced in Russia almost turned them into animate objects with their own morality and a strong Russophile prejudice, which instantly makes them unfit for the domestic military aviation. For a large part of the political class, as well as for its supporters, it became acceptable for Bulgaria to declare an indefinite period of "zero years", in which we would not have our own fighter aircraft. Instead, it was acceptable for them to cede our sovereignty to neighboring countries, NATO allies, who would protect our airspace.
There would be no third time. If the "MiGs" were stopped until the "F-16s" arrived and were mastered, Bulgaria would be left without aviation. But this was easily overlooked by the apologists of the thesis about the poor Russian armament and the need to get rid of it as soon as possible. Among the many problems with this idea was the fact that it was circulating silently, but no one dared to say it and stand behind it. Not even GERB. It may have its own strategic logic and suffer from a high momentary and tactical cost. But until it is formulated in its entirety, it is, above all, untenable.
Calling for the abandonment of strategically important war machines without offering an alternative is madness. And when this happens to the defense capacity of a country within a radius of 1,500 kilometers, two wars are being waged, it is also irresponsible. In addition to the servile generals and deputies from GERB and the lobbying organization called the “Atlantic Council”, politicians of a new generation such as Assen Vassilev, Ivaylo Mirchev and Kiril Petkov have joined this chorus. People who have never been to the barracks, have never picked up a rifle in their lives, have never studied disciplines such as international relations, national security, military affairs, and so on, but are very brave to say strong words and demand that their opinion be respected.
By the way, in American politics there is a symbolic division between those who seek to resolve disputes through diplomacy and those who prefer force. Peace-loving people are called “doves“, and war-loving people – “chicken hawks“.
The years in which GERB approached defense irresponsibly and with neglect, and the second period in which it began to carry out the will of the United States, led to a lag in rearmament. There is no assessment of the needs for new equipment of a modern Bulgarian army. There is no assessment of the needs for training and competence of personnel. There is no assessment of how all this can be provided with financial resources. There is no time frame in which this can happen.
If a student is irresponsible towards the educational process, but still wants to graduate, the biggest risk is that everything will fall on his head in the month of the exam session and he will be forced to work under enormous pressure. The same negligence towards defense has put Bulgaria in a situation of being understaffed, having outdated equipment and lacking defense capacity in years of historical shifting of geopolitical layers. In years during which two wars are being fought 1000 kilometers from us.
And all this still cannot wake up the politicians buried in ideological trenches. Those responsible for the difficult situation, insofar as they are yet another guardian of the vicious attitude towards the matter, such as former Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov, explain on television that the American tanker planes were here to train, and there was even consideration of Bulgarian “F-16“ pilots also training in mid-air refueling. The next day they explain on another television that we still do not have the necessary number of certified pilots for “F-16“, which is why the aircraft resource cannot be integrated into our defense.
The hawkish chicks attack the government's desire to acquire “MiG-29“ fighters or parts for them.
If our NATO partners should be worried about Bulgaria, their fears should not be related to the pro-Russian sentiment of the political or military elite, but to the complete unprofessionalism of the politicians who are trying to decide the fate of the Bulgarian armed forces. Incompetent, ideologized and sabotaging every process of creating a defense capacity.