The annual conference of the Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, begins today with a presentation of the “Analysis of the state and preparation of the Armed Forces in 2025.” This was announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The conference will continue tomorrow, and the topic this year is “The development of the armed forces through the prism of tasks in national and allied format.”

The President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Iliana Yotova, will become acquainted with the “Analysis of the state and preparation of the Armed Forces in 2025,” the press secretariat of the head of state announced.

The event will be attended by the Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov, the chairman of the Defence Committee in the National Assembly, the senior command staff of the Bulgarian Army, national representatives in NATO and European Union command structures, heads of structures in state institutions, directors of directorates in the Defence Staff and the Ministry of Defence, heads and commanders of structures directly subordinate to the Minister of Defence.

Guests at the event will also be the Deputy Commander of the NATO Air Command, Lieutenant General Guillaume Thomas, the commander of the NATO Joint Warfare Centre, Major General Ruprecht von Butler, and the Deputy Commander of the NATO operation to support Ukraine, Major General Ulf Hoisla.

Higher salaries for military personnel, numerous changes in the Defence and Armed Forces Act and the first eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets are part of the larger changes that accompanied Bulgaria's Armed Forces in the past year.