Drones: Bulgaria Needs a European Network

No single country can cope with the growing threat of drones alone, Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov told the media.

He expressed this opinion during his visit to the final stage of the competition of unmanned aerial systems operators of the Land Forces "Hawk Eye 2025_, held at the Land Forces training center "Lyulyak_. The atmosphere of the event was filled with tension, typical of such high-tech competitions, and the audience followed with interest the demonstrations of skills and speed of the participants.

Admiral Eftimov added that following the announcement of the proposal to create a European system for counteracting drones, the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Staff have carried out a thorough analysis of the initiative. They have submitted a report to the Minister of Defence describing the capabilities of the Bulgarian Army to contribute to the development of this pan-European network.

"We are convinced that this is extremely necessary,"

Admiral Eftimov emphasized, highlighting the urgency of the problem.

He explained in detail that effective anti-drone protection is an extremely complex process requiring multiple measures – surveillance, detection, classification, tracking, non-kinetic and kinetic impact.

"This requires a huge resource,"

Eftimov explained, emphasizing the scale of the necessary investments and resources.

He defined the European initiative as "a structured approach that will provide a standard, guide the defence industry and standardize procedures and training." But, as Admiral Eftimov emphasized, "this is a government approach, as it is a political initiative."

The Chief of Defence expressed satisfaction with the skills demonstrated by the servicemen during the competition. He noted that the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles into the army is a process whose speed directly depends on budget capabilities and administrative procedures.

"Bulgaria has capabilities and the armed forces are developing well. We are gaining skills and the pace is good, but it can be better,"

added Admiral Eftimov, emphasizing the need for faster development in this area.

Admiral Eftimov expressed satisfaction with what he saw during the competition, but also pointed out ambitious plans for the future.

"At the next competition there will be so-called strike drones – to demonstrate a strike on a target, this is our level of ambition, but also the development of anti-drone systems, which must proceed in parallel,"

he explained, emphasizing the need for parallel development of offensive and defensive capabilities in the field of unmanned technologies. This shows the readiness of the Bulgarian Army to cope with increasingly complex and dynamic threats in modern combat operations.