Bulgaria has signed an agreement to acquire seven minehunter vessels, the outgoing Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov announced after a meeting of the Council of Ministers on January 14.
He said the deal marks the launch of another key project for the modernisation of the Bulgarian Armed Forces.
“Four of the vessels will be delivered from Belgium and three from the Netherlands. Their price is political – they are being provided free of charge,” Mr Zapryanov explained.
The Bulgarian Navy already operates three minehunter ships supplied by the same two countries. According to the minister, the new acquisition is crucial for strengthening Bulgaria’s counter-mine capabilities.
“This delivery is extremely important for the development of our navy’s mine countermeasure capacity. Some of the existing vessels are due to be withdrawn from service. What we are doing is replacing old ships with new ones,” he said.
Mr Zapryanov added that Bulgaria also expects to begin the modernisation and rearmament of its armed forces under the European SAVE mechanism.
He described the step as “a very serious and important move” towards strengthening the country’s defence capabilities.
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