A 10-year „Defence Cooperation Roadmap between the Republic of Bulgaria and the United States of America“ was signed by the Bulgarian Minister of Krasimir Karakachanov and the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at a meeting at the Pentagon.

The goal is to deepen the cooperation in the Black Sea region, support the implementation of NATO capability targets, enhance the cooperation in the sphere of cybersecurity and strengthen crisis resilience.
„The signed Roadmap will assist the development of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, including Capabilities targets of NATO forces,“ said Minister Karakachanov.

He stressed that despite the COVID-19 crisis and the possible impact on the country's economy, the Ministry of Defense continues to work on the major modernization projects of the Bulgarian Army.

The investments in the field of defense mean more jobs created through development of the industrial cooperation with leading companies of the military-industrial complex.

„We are satisfied with the decision made by the USA to add Bulgaria to the list of countries that can benefit from deferred payment in possible future projects,“ said Minister Karakachanov.

“We highly appreciate Bulgaria's role as a state generating security and stability both regionally and within the framework of collective security,” said US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper who explicitly thanked Bulgaria for the fruitful bilateral cooperation.

“Your country is an example to a number of NATO member states by implementing the plan to increase the defense budget to 2% of the Gross Domestic Product for defense purposes,” said Mark Esper, pointing out the common interests of the two countries in the Black Sea region.

The work program of the Bulgarian Minister of Defense continued at the US State Department with two meetings - with the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Clarke Cooper.

Security issues in the Black Sea region, the Western Balkans and in the Middle East were discussed during the meetings as well as the enhanced presence, the increased scale and intensity of joint exercises and training within the framework of the existing Defense Cooperation Agreement of 2006.

Minister Karakachanov reaffirmed Bulgaria's position on the integration of the Western Balkan countries in the European Union, and noted the delay in fulfilling some of the commitments made by the Republic of North Macedonia under the Treaty on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation which cause difficulties in the development of the bilateral relations.

In the coming days, meetings and talks will be held with the Governor of the State of Tennessee, as well as with representatives of the Tennessee National Guard with which, since 1993, the Bulgarian Army has established bilateral cooperation and numerous joint projects.

The Ministers of Defense of Bulgaria and the United States of America Krasimir Karakachanov and Mark Esper signed today, 6 October 2020, a Defense Cooperation Roadmap. The ceremony took place at the Pentagon in the framework of Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov's visit to the United States of America.
We bring to your attention the text of the document.
The United States of America and the Republic of Bulgaria
Roadmap for Defense Cooperation
2020- 2030

The Department of Defense (DoD) of the United States of America and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of the Republic of Bulgaria share a goal of advancing the military capabilities and readiness of Bulgaria, the United States, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies. Built upon the foundation of the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria on Defense Cooperation, signed in Sofia on April 28, 2006, the U.S. DoD and the Bulgaria MoD affirm our strategic partnership in this ten-year Roadmap for Defense Cooperation and in the associated Lines of Effort (LOEs). Together, these documents help to establish a framework for the continuous development of Bulgaria's military readiness and capabilities through sustained defense cooperation.

Our bilateral defense relationship is based on mutual trust, respect, and the political will of both countries to advance common defense objectives. Our cooperation focuses on, but is not limited to, the following priorities through December 2030:

• Aligning U.S. security cooperation and assistance to Bulgaria with NATO capability targets and national priorities to achieve NATO-agreed levels of modernization, readiness, and deployability.

• Assisting Bulgarian defense institutions in creating an accountable and transparent defense establishment that can effectively sustain next-generation military capabilities.

• Deepening Black Sea cooperation to deter and counter external threats and challenges in the Maritime and Air Domains effectively.

• Cooperating on cyber security to deter malicious cyber activities and attacks on defense systems, to attribute such activities and attacks, and to counter adversaries effectively.

• Assisting Bulgaria with North Atlantic Treaty Article 3 commitments to build national resilience, which is a combination of civil preparedness and military capacity.

Pursuant to these priorities, the United States and Bulgaria plan to implement the defense cooperation activities outlined in the LOEs for Defense Cooperation. The existing DoD-MoD-led Bilateral Working Group should monitor the progress of the roadmap and continually revise, remove, or add LOEs and activities, as appropriate. This should be captured in progress reports from relevant forums, including the existing Bilateral Joint Commission. All defense cooperation activities are dependent upon availability of forces and resources, funding, and authorization.

This Roadmap for Defense Cooperation is not an international agreement and does not give rise to international legal rights or obligations.

High appreciation of the progress in the bilateral cooperation between Bulgaria and the USA in the sphere of security and defense was expressed during the talks between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of our country Krasimir Karakachanov at the meeting with Marcus Tommy, Director NATO and European Strategic Affairs to the White House National Security Council.

This was the first in the series of meetings of Minister Karakachanov's working visit to the United States which began today, 5 October 2020.

The two sides emphasized the key role of the meeting conducted a year ago between Prime Minister Borissov and President Trump with respect to deepening the strategic dialogue between the two countries.

Minister Karakachanov handed over a personal letter from the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov to the US President Donald Trump.

During the talks, the topic of Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans was discussed and the role of Bulgaria as a state generating security and stability in the region was highlighted.

Some of the countries in the Western Balkans have to go their way towards fully meeting the criteria for EU membership and fulfilling their responsibilities within the framework of their bilateral agreements with other countries in the region, Minister Karakachanov said.

He concluded by highlighting the importance of the European Union and NATO in the sphere of security and defense as he explicitly emphasized the growing role of the bilateral cooperation with the United States in the context of increased security risks in the Balkan and the Black Sea regions, and in the Middle East.

The Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov, the Deputy Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov, the Director of Defense Policy and Planning Directorate to the Ministry of Defense Brigadier General Radostin Iliev and the Director of the Public Relations and Protocol Directorate to the Ministry of Defense Alexander Urumov attended the meeting on the Bulgarian side.

Later in the day, Minister Karakachanov had a meeting with representatives of Lockheed Martin management at which the parties discussed the implementation of the F-16 contract. The representatives of Lockheed Martin stressed that the production process proceeds according to the signed contract and declared their readiness to continue the cooperation in the process of modernization of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria.

In the framework of the visit of the Bulgarian Minister of Defense to the United States, meetings will be held at the Pentagon with the US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper as well as at the US Senate and at the US State Department.

For the period 26 September 2020 to 30 October 2020 the air policing mission in Bulgarian national airspace will be enhanced by US F-16 fighter jets.

Compliant to a decision of the Council of Ministers, the six F-16s, which will carry out joint AP mission together with the Bulgarian MiG-29s, were redeployed to Graf Ignatievo Air Base on 18 September 2020. They took part in the international flight training "Thracian Viper 2020", which was successfully completed today.

In the fall of 2016 the Bulgarian Air Force conducted successfully for the first time a joint mission with their US colleagues. Participation in such joint missions enhances the Air Force capabilities to safeguard the integrity of Allied airspace.

The joint air policing of our country’s airspace will be carried out in the framework of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (NATINAMDS). It aims to preserve the security of Alliance members and improves their capabilities to interact during joint missions. The Enhanced Air Policing missions in the Eastern Flank Allies airspace have been conducted by allied forces on a rotational basis.

The Bulgarian Air Force will host the international flight training "Thracian Viper - 2020" which will take place in the period 14 - 25 September 2020 in the airspace of our country. Forces and resources of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Air Force of the Hellenic Republic and of Romania will participate in the joint flights. During the second flight week, crews from the United States Air Forces in Europe with F-16 aircraft will join the international training, and the F-16s will be relocated to Graf Ignatievo Air Base on 18 September 2020.

The leader of the flight training on the Bulgarian side is the commander of Graf Ignatievo Air Force Base, Brigadier General Dimitar Petrov.

According to the scenario of the training combat activities, the Bulgarian Air Force will improve its training in defensive and offensive air operations jointly with its coalition partners. Air Defense units of the Air Force and of the Land Forces will protect the territory and the critical infrastructure sites of our country from the raids of combined aviation groups which will simulate launching of air strikes. The training plan envisages the complexity of the performed tasks to intensify throughout the course of the training activities and to cover fulfilment of tasks specific to the aviation and air defense.
On the Bulgarian side, servicemen from the Command, control and surveillance base, crews of MiG-29 fighter aircraft and L-39 training/light combat aircraft from Graf Ignatievo Air Force Base, crews of Mi-24 and AS-532 Cougar helicopters from Krumovo Air Force Base as well as air defense units of the Air Force and of the Land Forces will participate in the international training.

The F-18 aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force will operate from the territory of our northern neighbor Romania. The F-16s and MiG-21s Lancer aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, and the F-16s of the Greek Air Force will conduct take-off and landing from their bases of permanent deployment.

"Thracian Viper - 2020" is this year’s largest international flight training hosted by and with the participation of the Bulgarian Air Force, which will provide the participants with opportunities to gain valuable experience with real interaction in an international environment.