Bulgaria will stay in the "Drone Edge" initiative and has applied for 20 anti-drone systems worth €80m, 10 mobile and 10 fixed, defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov told parliament today. The systems will be bought through the EU's SAFE scheme. See our original report: Radev tells MPs Bulgaria reacted quickly to attacks on ships.
"I have never said that Bulgaria will leave the Drone Edge initiative," Stoyanov said. He described the initiative as a virtual marketplace for possible future joint development and joint purchase of anti-drone systems.
The minister expects Bulgaria to sign a memorandum of understanding with Spain at any moment, so the two countries can buy the systems together.
Bulgaria will also join a separate three-year project on defence against low-flying air threats. The mandatory annual fee is €220,000. Bulgaria will submit a request to take part and expects to join by 30 October.
Parliament called the hearing after attacks on commercial ships in the Black Sea, close to Bulgarian territorial waters, on 6 and 13 October. It was also prompted by reports of deliberate arson against antennas for the Starlink satellite system. MPs wanted to hear what the institutions know, what they have done so far, how big the risk to national security is and what comes next.
Besides Radev and Stoyanov, the MPs heard from interior minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, chief of defence Admiral Emil Eftimov, Military Intelligence director Venelin Venev, State Agency for National Security (DANS) chairman Plamen Tonchev and State Intelligence Agency chairman Antoan Gechev.