They are buying French and Swedish missiles for BGN 1 billion for two warships

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This is what new warships should look like, according to Lursen’s visuals.

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l For Panther helicopters take torpedoes, they will be able to hit submarines

l The military has released 17 specifications for weapons in demand, followed by public procurement

The two new warships that the Ministry of Defense ordered from the German shipyard Lursen in 2020 will be armed with Swedish, German and French missiles.

This became clear after the Ministry of Defense quietly began the process of purchasing weapons for the ships. They were ordered unarmed by former Defense Minister Krassimir Karakachanov so that their price could fit in the originally planned BGN 1 billion with VAT. The first ship is already under construction in Varna and should be handed over to the navy in 2025. The second ship should be built and launched a year later.

However, at least another billion levs will be given for the purchase of weapons for the two warships, Prime Minister Georgi Panayotov predicted in the summer of 2021, after revealing the details of the deal for the warships. According to sources from the Ministry of Defense missiles

could have come out cheaper – about BGN 500 million, but with the purchase of smaller quantities

However, this really meant that the two new ships were not fully combat-ready, and this was unacceptable in Russia’s attempts to make the Black Sea their own.

The Ministry of Defense has published 17 specifications of weapons it intends to purchase. This is not yet a public tender, as the budget does not provide for money for it, but it allows producers to orient themselves and start preparing offers.

The Bulgarian Navy plans to buy an indefinite number of RBS-15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles, which are manufactured by the Swedish company Saab and the German Diel. The Swedes have also been chosen by Lursen to integrate the equipment of the two new ships. The launchers will also be theirs.

The French MICA was chosen for anti-aircraft missiles, but again no number is specified. These missiles can be used both by launchers on board a ship and by fighters such as the French Rafale, which are one of the options for buying second-hand, so that the Air Force can quickly replace Soviet MiG-29 fighters, while waiting for the ordered F-16s to be delivered.

The military also plans to buy two types of torpedoes. As one, it can also be launched from helicopters. This means that the Panther helicopters bought more than 12 years ago will finally be able to be used as combat helicopters. Until now, they performed search and rescue tasks in the Black Sea, as they were again bought without weapons due to price reductions.

The sought-after torpedoes must be able to hit targets at a depth of at least 600 meters, which means that they will be able to be used against submarines.

Specifications include several for the purchase of projectiles for the ship’s 35- and 76-millimeter guns, for false targets to deflect anti-ship missiles and for acoustic protection against torpedoes.

In reality, the approach of the Ministry of Defense to publish specifications, and then public procurement

allows transactions to be

do in stages

Thus, if the amount of each of the orders is less than BGN 100 million, there is no need to go through the cumbersome procedure for approval by the National Assembly. At a price below BGN 50 million, the approval of the Council of Ministers is not required.

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