On 8 August 2022, crews of the Bulgarian Air Force (BAF) started performing tasks in the joint flight training “Thracian Viper – 2022”. Forces and assets from the Air Forces of Greece, Canada, Romania, and the United States in Europe will participate in the training.

Within two weeks, in the period 8 August - 19 August 2022, joint flights will be conducted in the Bulgarian airspace, and tasks specific to the sectors of aviation and air defence will be performed, the complexity of which will increase as the training progresses. Their main objective is related to the preparation of forces for joint participation in coalition operations.

On the Bulgarian side, servicemen from the Command, control, and surveillance base, crews of MiG-29 fighter jets from Graf Ignatievo Air Base, crews of Su-25 aircraft from Bezmer Air Base, and crews of AS-532 Cougar helicopters from Krumovo Air Base patriciate in the training and have to fulfill tasks on aeromedical evacuation. Air defence formations from the Air Force and the Land Forces take part in the training as well.

Royal Canadian Air Force F-18s will operate from the territory of Romania, our northern neighbor. The Romanian and the Greek Air Forces with their F-16s will conduct flights taking off from and landing at their permanent bases.

US Air Force personnel will provide for the aviation operations at Elena training area.

The joint training “Thracian Viper” has been conducted annually since 2010 and provides opportunities for the Air Forces of the participating nations to generate rich experience in the conditions of real interaction in an international environment.

Dimitar Stoyanov, Minister of Defence of the caretaker government with Prime Minister Galab Donev, officially took office today, 2 August 2022. In the State Hall of the Ministry of Defence, he accepted the post from the outgoing minister Dragomir Zakov in the presence of the leadership of the Defence Staff, the senior officer staff of the Bulgarian Army, and directors of directorates.

"I accept the post of Minister of Defence at an extremely difficult time caused by the war in Ukraine. I am convinced that the Bulgarian Armed Forces are and will continue to be the guarantor of security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. There is no prosperous country without a modern, trained and combat-ready army," Minister Stoyanov said.

He pointed out that the main task of his team is the work on the modernization projects of the Armed Forces and the documentary preparation that can be done on them without a functioning parliament. Among the major projects are a new fighter aircraft, a combat vehicle for the Land Forces etc. "We are looking forward to preparing next year's budget. Our role as the political leadership of the Ministry of Defence is to achieve 2% of GDP for defence as early as 2023, and on this topic, talks have already been held with the Ministry of Finance," Minister Stoyanov said. According to him, work will also be done in order to create a dedicated defence fund where the unrealized financial means of each year will be accumulated. “The daily combat training of the military formations continues, and the autumn-winter preparation of the equipment is forthcoming,” Minister Stoyanov further said.

"I will in no way politicize the Bulgarian Army. The Bulgarian army is a pillar of statehood. I expect full cooperation from the senior command staff, and together we will achieve the established goals," Minister Dimitar Stoyanov stressed.

He thanked the team of the outgoing Minister Dragomir Zakov for the work done so far.

"We leave a good legacy for the short period of time that my cabinet was in the Ministry of Defence. I would like to thank my colleagues for their perseverance and dedication, as well as the senior command staff for their excellent interaction. I have the utmost respect for all service members and their dignified profession in protecting the motherland. Without a well-equipped, strong and motivated army, there can be no security," said Dragomir Zakov.

Traditionally, the outgoing Minister of Defence Dragomir Zakov presented his successor Dimitar Stoyanov with an icon of Saint George.

Deputy Ministers of Defence of Minister Dimitar Stoyanov will be Katerina Gramatikova and Teodora Genchovska.

Bulgaria will host the 15th edition of the International Exhibition of Defence Equipment and Services "Hemus 2022" that will take place in the period 1 - 4 June 2022 at the International Fair Plovdiv.

The exhibition will be held under the motto "Defence, Antiterrorism and Security". The foremost attention of the exhibitors will be focused on presenting their technological achievements and opportunities for participation in the implementation of the major projects on the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria in the areas of "Armament and Equipment", "Communication and Information Systems", unmanned aerial systems, surveillance and tracking systems, cyber defense etc.

The International Exhibition Hemus 2022 is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy. The major organizer is Hemus-95 Foundation with Rear Admiral (Ret.) Dr. Nikolay Nikolov as Chairman of the Board.

The exhibition will be accompanied by an international scientific conference organized by the Bulgarian Defence Institute “Professor Tsvetan Lazarov”, a session of the Industrial Forum as well as live-fire demonstrations at Zmeyovo Central Artillery Technical Test Range.

For the first time, a "Research and Innovation Symposium for European Security and Defence" (RISE-SD) will take place within the framework of the exhibition, marking one year since the launch of Horizon Europe (HE) and the European Defence Fund (EDF), the new EU framework program for research and innovation.

Dear colleagues,

The official opening of the 15th International Defence Equipment Exhibition "Hemus 2022" will take place at 11.00 a.m. on 1 June 2022 at the International Fair Plovdiv. Traditionally, before the opening ceremony, at 10.00 a.m., a joint press conference of the exhibition organizers will be held in the Press Club Hall of the Fair's Congress Centre where you will have the opportunity to receive detailed information regarding the participants and the accompanying events.

The press center of the Ministry of Defence will organize the admission of media representatives to cover the official opening of the International Hemus 2022 Exhibition and the accompanying events. For this purpose, journalists have to confirm their participation by completing and sending the following registration form not later than 18 May 2022 to the e-mail: presscntr@mod.bg:

First name: Media:

Surname: Position held at the media:

Family name: Contact telephone:

Personal ID number: E-mail Address:

ID card number: Journalist card number:

Contact phone: 02/92 20 954, 02/92 20 955

The Royal Netherlands Air Force redeployed today, 6 April 2022, four F-35 aircraft at Graf Ignatievo Air Base. Until 31May 2022, they will fulfil enhanced Air Policing tasks jointly with the Bulgarian Air Force.

The Royal Netherlands Air Force aircraft, jointly with their Bulgarian colleagues, will fulfil tasks such as Combat Air Patrol (CAP), Interception, Visual Identification (V-ID), and Shadow. The Bulgarian Air Force will continue implementing their national commitments under the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS). Each one of the sides will cover the expenses of its own forces and assets participating in the enhanced Air Policing activities.

Through its decision dated 8 March 2022, the Council of Ministers authorised the implementation of enhanced Air Policing tasks in the airspace of the Republic of Bulgaria by the Bulgarian and the Royal Netherlands Air Forces. In fulfilling the joint Air Policing tasks, priority will be given to the use of the Bulgarian Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) fighter aircraft. The mission will be implemented in pursuance of the Assurance Measures aimed at providing assurance to nations on NATO’s Eastern Flank. The mission will be carried out in compliance with the plans and procedures of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS).


The Air Policing of NATO airspace is a peacetime collective defence mission. Its purpose is to ensure the integrity and security of the Allied NATO airspace. Participation of personnel and assets of the Bulgarian Air Force in the joint enhanced Air Policing operations proves that the combat aviation capabilities of Bulgaria can function in integration with the forces of the Allies to safeguard the integrity and air security of Allied airspace on NATO’s Eastern Flank.

Decisions to ensure the security of Allies in Eastern Europe were made by the Heads of State and Government of the Member States at the NATO Summits in Wales in 2014 and in Warsaw in 2016. One of these decisions is to enhance the Air Policing Mission in the airspace of the Eastern Flank member states with Allied forces on a rotational basis. The Bulgarian Air Force has jointly performed Air Policing tasks in 2014 and 2016 with forces and assets from the US Air Force, in 2017 - with forces and assets from the Air Force of the Italian Republic, and in 2022 - with forces and assets from the Air Force of the Kingdom of Spain. Since 2012 until the present, the Bulgarian Air Force has carried out a significant number of cross-border operations with the Hellenic Air Force and the Romanian Air Force.

By 15 April 2022, Bulgaria is to submit its national report on the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The information exchanged on an annual basis between our country and the rest of the OSCE participating States is prepared jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Interior on the basis of answers to the questionnaire adopted by the OSCE participating States. The bigger part of the questions falls under the competence of the Ministry of Defence. Those relate to, among others, the legislative basis regulating defence planning, democratic control, roles and missions of the Armed Forces, the execution of the military service, education in international humanitarian law, the legal and the administrative procedures to protect the rights of the Armed Forces personnel.

In 1994, the participating States of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) adopted a Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. The Code is a fundamental document setting forth the principles of good governance in the security sector management and playing the role of a monitoring mechanism as regards the observance of the said principles. It became effective as of January 1st, 1995. The exchange of information carried out under the Code contributes to confidence and security building between the countries. As an additional transparency measure, the reports are published on OSCE’s website.