Now Available: Bulgaria Defence & Security Report Q1 2015

On 18th August 2014 it was reported that Bulgaria's main political parties had agreed to increase the share of the country's defence budget which is spent on equipment by up to 20 percent. Bulgaria has come under considerable pressure in recent years to enhance and modernise its materiel. In particular, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is encouraging Bulgaria to invest in advanced equipment which can correspondingly reduce the manpower size of the country's armed forces.

On average, the Bulgarian armed forces have maintained a numerical size of 78,200 personnel between 2001 and 2011 across all three services. The size of the armed forces has declined from circa 111,300 in 2001 to 47,300 in 2011. The size of the armed forces is expected to contract still further with up to 1,300 civilian and military personnel being laid off by the end of 2014.

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On 18th August 2014, Bulgarian defence minister Yelizar Shalamanov announced a USD680mn programme to modernise the equipment used by the country's armed forces. Shalamanov reiterated his commitment to procuring a new Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for the Bulgarian Air Force (see below). In addition, the minister stated that a new conventional hunter-killer (SSK) submarine will be procured for the navy along with several new surface vessels for the force.

No details were given by Shalamanov regarding how many MRCA will be procured, which aircraft will be procured, the likely budget for the acquisition, the industrial arrangements of such an acquisition (whether the aircraft will be purchased off-the-shelf or be produced locally under licence) and when deliveries of the new aircraft will commence and when they will conclude. Similar information was not forthcoming regarding the navy's SSK requirement or the new surface vessels that it intends to procure. Until such details are articulated, such potential purchases can be regarded only as an armed forces 'wish list' rather than a concrete plan for a modernisation of...

The Bulgaria Defence & Security Report features Business Monitor International (BMI)'s independent forecasts for national and international security, the defence industry, military expenditure, employment in arms production, and arms imports and exports, as well as examining industry trends and prospects, national and multinational arms producers and the regulatory environment.

BMI's Bulgaria Defence & Security Report provides professionals, consultancies, government departments, regulatory bodies and researchers with independent forecasts and regional competitive intelligence on the Bulgarian defence and security industry.

Key Benefits

* Benchmark BMI's independent defence and security industry forecasts on Bulgaria to test other views - a key input for successful budgetary and strategic business planning in the Bulgarian defence and security market.

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