Boyko Noev: Bulgaria is not ready to defend its skies from drones

The ruling party is facing a serious challenge – Bulgaria is currently not prepared to effectively defend its airspace. This was stated by former Minister of Defense Boyko Noev in an interview for "bTV".

The topic has come to the fore again following the incident with a downed unmanned aerial vehicle near Kardam. According to an expert analysis cited by "news.bg", "the drone that fell near Kardam is Ukrainian, but another country may have directed it toward Bulgaria". The publication also examines the hypothesis that "it is possible the device was intercepted and its GPS coordinates altered".

Noev expressed hope that the measures the government is already taking will yield results in the short term. He emphasized that there are serious companies in Bulgaria that develop and manufacture drones, as well as firms specializing in anti-drone systems. According to him, the state must use this potential much more actively.

The former minister called on the authorities to immediately join pan-European efforts to build a coordinated policy and protection against drone threats. According to him, Bulgaria cannot rely solely on allied structures.

"We cannot ask for anything specific from NATO, and at the moment, NATO as an organization does not really have anything to provide in this area. NATO protects us in a general sense and provides the framework for policy and defense, but there are specific actions that every individual country must take itself. Bulgaria is a country that is suffering some of the most serious attacks, systematically and concentrated on the military industry," commented Noev.

In the conversation, he also addressed the explosion at the "EMKO" military plant near Tryavna. According to him, in this incident, there was "no external interference," and in this assessment, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev is right. However, Noev called for a thorough investigation of the case to prevent the possibility of "another shell exploding," as he put it, addressing the acting Prosecutor General Vanya Stefanova.

According to him, this is an "attack against the defense industry of Bulgaria," which must not remain without a serious institutional response. In this context, he insisted on broad reform in the prosecutor's office and in the State Agency for National Security, emphasizing the need for more effective coordination and accountability of the structures responsible for security.