September 26, 2015: Strategy Page

Bulgaria has hired a Polish firm to upgrade six of their MiG-29 fighters. Poland was selected because in 2014 Poland completed upgrades required to make their own MiG-29s compatible with NATO standards. This was necessary because Poland is now a member of NATO and could not afford to replace its MiG-29s with Western fighters. Poland has the largest fleet of MiG-29s in NATO (32 operational) and other East European nations that recently joined NATO are in a similar situation.

The Poles didn’t do it all themselves but figured out who the most effective partners would be. Thus a Polish firm worked with an Israeli company to make the MiG-29 electronics compatible with NATO equipment. Mechanical controls were replaced with electronic (“fly by wire”) ones. This involved a much more efficient cockpit and some amenities which make life much easier for pilots. All this gave the MiG-29 electronics similar to those in the 48 F-16s Poland has purchased.

The Bulgarian upgrades are less about new electronics and more about keeping the Bulgarian MiG-29s flyable. This being done despite protests from Russia who insist it is illegal for anyone but the Russian manufacturer to perform such upgrades and refurbishment. But the Russians want a lot more money for the work than Polish, or even Western European firms can do it for. Moreover the current Russian hostility towards NATO does not make Russia a reliable source of such services.

Bulgaria has to be careful with what it spends on military equipment because the country was never rich to begin with. After Bulgaria broke free from communist (and Russian dominated) government in 1989 it turned to the West for help. Reforms (and reducing the chronic corruption) took time. Thus it wasn’t until 2009 that Bulgaria was able to resume training new MiG-29 pilots. Such training had stopped, for budgetary reasons, in the late 1990s. Throughout the 1990s, and until 2004, Bulgaria was busy disbanding its Cold War era air force of 226 aircraft. By 2009 all they had left was 18 MiG-29s (which needed upgrades to meet NATO standards), some Su-25s (for ground attack), a few MiG-21s (on their way out), some Su-22s (used for reconnaissance) and a few dozen transports and helicopters. One by one, most air bases were shut down, and the Russian made aircraft (most of them obsolete) sold for scrap.

Western aircraft are being bought, but the MiG-29s are being kept because they are competitive with Western fighters. That is important because East European nations found that Western warplanes were too expensive. Meanwhile by 2009 the existing MiG-29 pilots were getting old and many of them had already left for more lucrative commercial flying job. Thus the need for another dozen MiG-29 pilots. That training was completed by 2010.

In late 2011 Bulgaria announced that it would postpone a decision on the purchase of a new multi-role jet fighter until at least 2012. Bulgaria originally committed itself to buying a NATO-type fighter as part of its alliance integration process. However, the economic recession cut into procurement funds and that situation never got better. Soon plans for buying Western warplanes was dropped as well. Then the Poles showed it was possible to upgrade MiG-29s on an East European budget.

08 septembre 2015 Romandie.com (AFP)

Moscou - La diplomatie russe a réclamé mardi des explications à la Bulgarie, qui a interdit le survol de son territoire à des avions russes en route pour la Syrie, et à la Grèce, qui a annoncé que les Etats-Unis lui avaient demandé de prendre la même décision.

Si quelqu'un, et dans ce cas précis il s'agit de nos partenaires grecs et bulgares, a des doutes, alors bien entendu il doit nous expliquer quel est le problème, a déclaré le vice-ministre russe des Affaires étrangères Mikhaïl Bogdanov, cité par l'agence de presse russe Interfax.

La Bulgarie, pays membre de l'Otan, a déclaré mardi avoir refusé à un nombre non précisé d'avions russes de traverser son espace aérien à la fin de la semaine dernière.

Cette décision fait suite à des informations lundi selon lesquelles les Etats-Unis ont demandé à la Grèce, également membre de l'Otan, de ne pas autoriser les avions russes effectuant des livraisons en Syrie à survoler son territoire.

S'il est avéré qu'ils prennent des mesures restrictives ou d'interdiction à la demande des Américains, alors cela soulève des questions sur leur droit souverain à prendre des décisions sur le passage par leur espace aérien d'avions d'autres pays, comme la Russie, a noté M. Bodganov.

Si la Grèce n'a pas encore donné de réponse officielle, le ministère bulgare des Affaires étrangères a dit fonder son refus sur des informations dignes de confiance selon lesquelles le chargement déclaré n'était pas celui qu'il y avait en réalité.

Depuis plusieurs jours, les Américains notamment s'inquiètent d'une éventuelle augmentation de la présence russe en Syrie, sans que ces craintes ne soient étayées par des preuves définitives.

Samedi, le secrétaire d'Etat américain John Kerry avait appelé son homologue russe Sergueï Lavrov pour lui faire part de l'inquiétude des Etats-Unis quant à un éventuel engagement militaire de Moscou en Syrie.

Pour sa part, la Russie se borne à répéter qu'elle fournit depuis longtemps des armes au régime du président syrien Bachar al-Assad.

Mardi, Mikhaïl Bogdanov a rappelé que des experts et des instructeurs russes formaient en effet des soldats de l'armée syrienne.

Par ailleurs, la Russie n'a pas prévu de changer quoique ce soit en ce qui concerne sa seule base en Syrie, celle située à Tartous, ville côtière et deuxième port de ce pays, a ajouté M. Bogdanov.

Les conditions de fonctionnement de cette base et ses objectifs sont depuis longtemps connus et je n'y vois aucun problème, a affirmé le vice-ministre.

Cette base logistique se trouve à Tartous depuis déjà plusieurs décennies et il n'y pas de questions à se poser, et personne n'en posera, a-t-il martelé.

05/06/2015 par Justine BOQUET – Air  & Cosmos

Fin mai, le ministère de la Défense bulgare a annoncé qu'un appel d'offres allait être lancé d'ici fin juin en vue de l'acquisition de nouveaux avions de combat. La Bulgarie, à travers cette future acquisition, vise à remplacer ses MiG-21 dans un premier temps puis ses Mig-29.

La volonté bulgare de remplacer sa flotte de MiG existe depuis 2012. Le projet avait été repoussé par manque de moyens financiers. Aujourd'hui encore la Bulgarie ne peut consacrer qu'une somme limitée. 400 millions de dollars ont été débloqués pour l'achat de 8 avions d'occasion. Ce premier lot devra être complété. Le pays table sur l'acquisition d'une à deux séries supplémentaires, de préférence neufs. L'objectif final est de composer une flotte d'environ 20 nouveaux appareils.

Suite de l’article

20 Mar. 2015 by NATO

NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) completed their participation in joint NATO training exercises and maritime situational awareness operations in the Black Sea today.

Led by Rear Adm. Brad Williamson (USA N), SNMG2 is currently comprised of the flagship USS Vicksburg (CG 69), HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337), TCG Turgutreis (F 241), FGS Spessart (A 1442), and ITS Aliseo (F 574).

"The planning, coordination and execution of these exercises allowed the integration of SNMG2 and other maritime Alliance assets in a multi-threat environment," said Lt. Cmdr. Ruiz Rodriguez (ESP N), SNMG2 Staff Communications Officer.  "The training provided us with outstanding results and allowed us to showcase our integration for key leadership across the Alliance."

SNMG2 was deployed to the Black Sea to reassure allies in the region of the Alliance’s collective defence and resolve. Throughout the month of March, SNMG2 participated in three separate exercises designed to improve interoperability and enhance rapid integration of Alliance maritime assets.

"Working with our Allied navies helps us improve our teamwork and interoperability," said Ensign Andrew Hanna, Vicksburg’s 1st Lieutenant. "The experience that we gained from these exercises will help us become more proficient both as operators and as a unit."

The force trained on anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare procedures during separate exercises with the Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian navies. The ships also responded to simulated small boat attacks and maneuvers with the ships in close proximity to one another.

"I am truly proud of the performance of all SNMG2 Sailors over the last several weeks," said Williamson. "The hard work they put in during this period allowed for invaluable training with our Allies on the Black Sea. The rapid integration we were able to achieve with three different navies is a true testament to the strength of the Alliance."

While in the Black Sea, SNMG2 made port visits to Varna, Bulgaria and Constanta, Romania. During each visit, the Sailors and leadership of the group interacted with key decision-makers both professionally and personally. The crews from all ships were also afforded time to explore the region and experience the rich history and culture of the Alliance nations bordering the Black Sea.

Since Williamson assumed command of SNMG2 in July 2014, the group deployed to the North American coast where it participated in three high-tempo exercises with multiple Allied nations.

Upon completion of their North American deployment, the ships of SNMG2 returned to the Mediterranean and again engaged in complex multinational exercises with Allied nations, including one of NATO’s largest exercises and the naval response force certification event for 2014; exercise Noble Justification. SNMG2 also completed several surges in support of NATO’s anti-terrorism mission, Operation Active Endeavour.

The group will resume patrols in Mediterranean, contributing to maritime situational awareness in the region.

5 March 2015 - EATC

The first European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course (EAATTC 15-1) will be held in Bulgaria from 17 March to 3 April 2015.

Aircraft and crews from six European countries are participating: Bulgaria (C-27J), Czech Republic (C-295), Germany (C160), France (C-130), Italy (C-130J) and the Netherlands (C-130). The programme of the training will include academic course and basic flying sorties during the first week, followed by more complex missions involving low-level flights, air-to-air as well as surface-to-air threats, and maximum effort landings during the second week.

Run by the EATC, EAATTC is conducted under the umbrella of the European Air Transport Fleet (EATF) whose main objective is to increase the European Union's airlift capabilities by addressing shortages and increasing interoperability.

For more information

26/2/15 François d’Alançon – LaCroix.com

La diminution des budgets de défense contredit l’engagement pris lors du dernier sommet de l’Alliance atlantique.

Les pays membres de l’Otan – hors États-Unis qui représentent 75 % du budget –, ne tiennent pas l’engagement pris lors du dernier sommet de l’Alliance atlantique, en septembre 2014 au Pays de Galles, de mettre fin à la réduction de leurs dépenses militaires pour atteindre 2 % du Produit intérieur brut (PIB) en 2024.

Suite de l’article

Brussels - 10 December, 2014 European Defence Agency

7 août 2014. Portail des Sous-Marins

La marine bulgare a besoin de 2 ou 3 nouveaux navires multi-fonctions, a déclaré son commandant, le contre-amiral Dimitar Denev.

Les navires devraient être construits dans des chantiers navals bulgares, parce que les navires actuels sont vieux, de construction russe et ne respectent pas les standards OTAN. S’ils sont construits en Bulgarie, ils seront moins chers et l’entretien sera plus facile, a expliqué l’amiral Denev.

Selon Denev, les nouveaux navires doivent être multi-fonctions : pour la défense d’autres navires, des plateformes pétrolières et des convois. Ils doivent aussi pouvoir embarquer un hélicoptère.

Il a indiqué que la marine avait aussi besoin de nouveaux sous-marins. Actuellement, l’entrainement de l’état-major de la marine bulgare a lieu à bord de sous-marins turcs, parce que la Bulgarie n’a aucun sous-marin.

Référence : Novinite (Bulgarie)

27 June - Pascal Ballinger - News & Press updates / EATC

During the last two weeks, as of 25 June, more than 90 missions have been flown and more than 140 flying hours have been performed. Some 34 tons of cargo and nearly 100 paratroopers have been dropped.

Whilst one and a half week ago the tactical scenario started with simple familiarization and recognition flights, allowing the participants to get familiar with the exercise terrain, the complexity of the mission evolved to multi-ship formations and more challenging sorties.

The mission of the last day was a COMAO, a composite air operation.

A COMAO is an operation, limited in both time and space, where assets differing in type and/or role are put under the control of a single commander to achieve a common, specific objective.

Integrating a tactical transport aircraft into a COMAO is complicated, especially due to the lack of aircrews’ training and the limited speed and manoeuvers ability of the tactical transport aircraft. This implies that the backbone of a successful COMAO is coordination.

EATT14’s COMAO put together 9 tactical transport aircrafts of 9 different nations. Five C-130, 2 CASA CN-295 and 2 C-27J. Moreover two Greek F-16 and a Greek EMB-145H AEW&C participated in the exercise. Bulgarian Mig-29, SA-6 and SA-8 played the threat.

The primary objective was a massive personnel and material air drop at drop zone “Gold”, followed by a second air drop on DZ “Africa”. Before entering in the threat area, the tactical air transport aircraft (TAT) waited at a hold on position, while above the F-16, dedicated to the protection of the TAT cleaned the area to prevent air to air threat played by the MIG 29. All these manoeuvers have been coordinated by AEW orbiting 200 km south in a safety area. Moreover the AEW constantly provided the position of the MIG 29 to the TAT and the F-16.

To avoid the threat, the COMEO participants, the so-called package, flew at a very low level.

When a TAT was committed by the MIG-29, the concerned aircraft reacted and had to leave the transport flow. With AEW information, the F-16 could commit on the MIG aggressor and the engaged TAT could rejoin the flow in order to continue its mission.

Approaching the DZ, the transport aircraft reduced their speed, climbed in order to be able to perform the material and personnel air drop.

On the DZ, a Dutch pathfinder unit acting as Combat Control Team had put ground markings to authenticate and guide the aircrews.

Above, the F-16 continued to protect the package during the drop phase. Given that the TAT had to fly at that moment at lower speed and at a higher flight level, this phase was particularly critical. 

After having performed the drop, the TAT accelerated and descended again to the safer low flight level.

After the second drop the package back to Plovdiv where they performed a tactical approach before landing.

This very impressive last mission closes EATT14, but the next challenge is already on the RADAR – in September 2014, for the first time, the EAATTC – the European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course will take place in Zaragoza (Spain).

Find more views about EATT at EATT 2014 picture gallery

24.06.2014 by European Defence Agency

Bulgarian paratroopers keeping their skills up to date as part in of European Air Transport Training 2014. Thanks to Bulgarian Special Forces 68th Division for the video.

17 June  Pascal Ballinger - EATC

In Plovdiv (Bulgaria) for the moment military out of 20 nations are just staring to the sky with the same question in mind: when will the rain stop?
This morning, Tuesday June 17, 2014 the 3rd EATT started with some academicals for air crews. While inside the meeting room the crews have been briefed on air operations and have got an update on the threat situation in the vicinity of Plovdiv Airbase - while outside it was just raining “cats and dogs”.
EATT 14 brings together more than 450 participants, 19 crews and 10 transport aircraft of five different types having flown in from ten different countries.
The aircraft and crews come from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Spain and Norway. Luxembourg, the smallest EATC Participation Nation joins with one single pilot embedded inside the Belgian crew.
Observers are coming from Austria, Finland, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, UK, and USA.
Greece is supporting the exercise with F-16 aircraft and one EMB-145H AEW&C.

Find EATT 2014 picture gallery here.

March 27, 2014: Strategy Page

The U.S. has sent a team of American soldiers to Libya to work out details of a training program being set up in Bulgaria for the new Libyan Army. In late 2013 the U.S. agreed to establish a training facility in Bulgaria where 500 American soldiers would serve as instructors at a camp that would train 8,000 (or more) Libyan recruits in basic military skills.

Putting the training facility in Bulgaria avoided the possibility of the many Islamic terrorist groups active in Libya having American instructors as targets for kidnapping for murder. Many Islamic terrorist organizations in Libya see the Libyan Army as the enemy and a training facility with American staff would be a prime target. The small team of officers and NCOs will work with their Libyan counterparts to agree on what exactly the training will cover and how selection for the training will be conducted. This small team of American troops will receive a lot of protection while in Libya.

The first batch of 200 Libyan trainees is to go to Bulgaria soon. Some 500 soldiers from the U.S. 1st Infantry Division have been selected as instructors. Bulgaria will provide military and civilian personnel for support services and some Libyan Army officers and NCOs will be in Bulgaria to oversee the entire process.

While American Special Forces often train foreign troops, for jobs like this, that mainly provide basic skills, its easier, cheaper and more convenient to use regular troops (who do this sort of thing with Americans all the time.)