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.

Bulgaria will host the 14th specialized international defence equipment exhibition "Hemus 2020 - Defence, Counterterrorism and Security", which will be held in the period 30 September - 3 October 2020 at the International Fair in the town of Plovdiv.

The international exhibition "Hemus - 2020" is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Bulgaria, and is organized by "Hemus-95" Foundation.

This year, the exhibition will be accompanied by an international scientific conference, a session of the Industrial Forum, as well as by live fire demonstration at the Central Artillery Technical Test Range "Zmeyovo".

The official opening of the 14th International Defence Equipment Exhibition "Hemus - 2020" will take place on 30 September 2020 at the International Fair in the town of Plovdiv. Traditionally, before the ceremony a joint press conference of the organizers of the exhibition will be held at which you will have the opportunity to obtain detailed information on 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 Exhibition "Hemus - 2020" and the accompanying events. For this purpose, it is necessary for the permanently accredited journalists to confirm their participation by providing not later than 9 September 2020 to e-mail: presscntr@mod.bg the following information: first name, second name, surname, Personal Identification Number, the number of the personal identity card, the name of the media, the position in the respective media, contact phone, e-mail address, journalist card number.

The contact telephone at the Press Center of the Ministry of Defence is: 02/92 20 954.

The corvette Bodri of the First Patrol Ship Division from the Bulgarian Navy Flotilla of warships and auxiliary vessels returned to the maritime base in Varna today, 27 July 2020, after a nine-day voyage. The warship took part in the five-day US-Ukrainian exercise "Sea Breeze 2020" in the Black Sea.

During the exercise, actions on anti-ship defence, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare were conducted and signaling warfare as well as communication exercises were performed. The Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 also took part in these exercises.