During the search operation, it was established that Major Valentin Terziev, the pilot of the MiG-29 fighter aircraft, died on June 9th in a night training flight tasked with aerial shooting (illuminated parachute target).

Major Valentin Dimitrov Terziev (47) had done active military service since August 1998. He graduated from G. Benkovski Air Force Academy having acquired specialization as a fighter pilot in the Air Force. He performed his entire military service at the 3rd Graf Ignatievo Air Base where the last position he held was a squadron Chief of Staff. Major Terziev had fighter pilot - first class specialty. He flew MiG-21 and MiG-29 aircraft. Over the years, he had been awarded many times by the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence, the Commander of the Air Force and the Commander of the Air Base.

During his service in the Air Force and until his last training flight, Major Terziev had fulfilled responsibly and professionally the tasks of protecting the inviolability of Bulgaria’s airspace.

The Ministry of Defence expresses its condolences to the relatives and friends of the pilot. May he rest in peace!

Today, June 9, 2021, while performing a training task over the sea area of ​​the Republic of Bulgaria, a MiG-29 aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force lost radio communication and disappeared from the radars at 00:45.

A search and rescue operation was launched immediately and is still ongoing. It involves forces and assets from the Navy, the Joint Special Operations Command, the Border Police and the Air Force.

The Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov and the Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov are on their way to the area of ​​the incident.

The media will be informed in due time about the course of the search operation.

The tactical exercise with experimental and joint combat live fire "Shabla 21" has been suspended.

“An exceptionally high level of preparation and, in particular, convincing performance, with a highly efficient organization of communication, coordination and management of the exercise achieved in a complex environment," this was the assessment made by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev after the demonstrations of defence capabilities done by the participants in the national tactical exercise with live firings and international participation "Strike Back - 21". Today, June 4th, at Koren training area, the President accompanied by the Minister of Defense Georgi Panayotov and the Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov monitored the dynamic demonstration. President Radev congratulated the servicemen of the Bulgarian and the Allied armies participating in the exercise as well as the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces and of the Land Forces on the successful performance of the exercise. "It reveals a lot, it demonstrates that the Bulgarian army can act effectively in a complex tactical situation in an international environment," said President Radev.

Today, servicemen from the 31st Mechanized Battalion of the 2nd Tundzha Mechanized Brigade, the 20th self-propelled artillery division and the Center for Training Specialists of the Bulgarian Land Forces, a light infantry platoon from Romania, a tactical battlegroup from Greece as well as helicopters from the Bulgarian and Greek Air Forces took part in the defence capabilities demonstration. The participants demonstrated capabilities employed in a defense operation of coalition format as part of the multinational Southeast Division.

The dynamic display was also monitored by the Ambassadors of the Hellenic Republic, Romania and the United States. H.E. Dimitrios Chronopoulos, H.E. Brandusa Joana Predescu and H.E. Hero Mustafa, the Commander of the US Army Europe and Africa, General Christopher Cavoli, the Chief of Defence Staff of Romania, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, and the Deputy Chief of Defense of Greece, Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymousis.

The national exercise with international participation "Strike Back - 21" is part of a series of related exercises "Defender Europe - 21". It is conducted in the period 26 May 26 - 5 June 2021 at Koren Training Area. Nearly 800 servicemen from the Land Forces of Bulgaria with up to 210 units of combat and specialized equipment participate in the exercise. The immediate aviation support is performed by Su-25 aircraft, Mi-24 and AN-Apache helicopters from the air forces of the participating nations. A tactical battlegroup from Greece, a light infantry platoon from Romania and a platoon of cadets from Vasil Levski National Defence University also take part in the exercise.

“The state of the Armed Forces’ defence capabilities allows for the fulfilment of the tasks under the missions arising from the constitutional obligations to guarantee the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the country on a national level as well as within the framework NATO's collective defence and the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union,” said the Minister of Defence Georgi Pamayotov today, 3 June 2021. He emphasized that the fulfilment of the tasks is accomplished under the conditions of various resource and technological constraints, and actions are undertaken to achieve their gradual phased reduction.

At the press conference, attended also by the Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov, Minister Panayotov introduced the two Deputy Ministers of Defence Alexander Petkov and Plamen Yordanov.

The Minister of Defence highlighted the key priority of the caretaker government: the organization and normal conduct of the early parliamentary elections. The Ministry of Defence will assist the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in conducting the elections abroad.

"Our task is to ensure the normal operation and functioning of the Ministry of Defence. This means that the Armed Forces should continue their preparations for the performance of the defence tasks, ensuring the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Bulgaria," Minister Panayotov said. He pointed out that a decision was made by NATO to withdraw all contingents involved in the Alliance's mission in Afghanistan. "One of our priorities is to ensure the smooth and accident-free withdrawal of our contingent and the return of our boys and girls to Bulgaria," the Minister of Defence stressed.
As a priority, he also pointed out Bulgaria's active participation in both NATO and in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU.

Minister Panayotov also commented on the progress of the three modernization projects. "The work on the project for the acquisition of a new multi-role fighter F-16 is completed smoothly, the main activities on the acceptance of the new fighter aircraft are concentrated in Graf Ignatievo Air Base where BGN 300 million are allocated to infrastructure-related activities," said Minister Panayotov.

He emphasized that a contract for the acquisition of two modular patrol vessels had been signed with the German company Lursen. "What I personally did not know was that the ships were purchased without the respective ammunition. I was provided with an explanation that this was a normal process. However, it is important to know that work is underway on a project to purchase ammunition for the two ships. The price of these ammunition sets varies between BGN 400 million and one billion", Georgi Panayotov commented.

The caretaker government Defence Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Georgi Panayotov participated today, 1 June 2021, in a videoconference meeting of the Ministers of Defense of NATO member states.

The main topic of the forum was the preparation for the forthcoming NATO Summit on 14 June 2021. The focus of the discussions was on the “NATO 2030” reflection process and the decisions related to the Alliance’s deterrent and defence posture, sustainability, innovations, the consequences of the climate change for security as well as on resource-related issues.

In his address, Minister Georgi Panayotov declared that "Collective defence is at the core of NATO’s existence and relevance." "The Allies have to bear the responsibility, political and financial, to properly resource NATO’s activities and structures,” the Minister of Defence pointed out. He emphasized the importance of the Defense Innovation Innitiative that will have a high added value and has a potential to become a valuable tool in support of NATO’s technological edge.

At the session, a series of other topics were discussed such as the situation in Afghanistan including the planned withdrawal of forces participating in the Resolute Support Mission, and the future assistance for the country. The Allies reaffirmed their commitment to security in Afghanistan in a long-term perspective as well as their support for the peace process in the country. Minister Georgi Panayotov stated that Bulgaria considers a contribution to the preparation and training of the Afghan security forces, and confirmed that our country remains committed to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund.

The Defence Ministers endorsed a new NATO comprehensive cyber defence policy that builds on and updates NATO enhanced cyber defense policy of 2014, recognizes cyberspace as a stand-alone operational domain as well as the contribution of the cyberdomain to the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, and resilience building. The progress achieved in the work on the NATO-EU cooperation was also reviewed.