
Bulgarian Army

Българска армия

Bulgarian
Air Force
Bulgarian
Army
Bulgarian
Navy

Equipment
Bulgarian Air Force
The Bulgarian Air Force (Bulgarian: Военновъздушни сили) is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air Force is one of the oldest air forces in Europe and the world. In recent times it has been actively taking part in numerous NATO missions and exercises in Europe. Since the early 2000s, Bulgaria has been trying actively to restructure its armed forces as a whole and a lot of attention has been placed on keeping the ageing Russian aircraft operational. Currently the attack and defence branches of the Bulgarian air force are composed of MiG-21s and MiG-29s.


Военновъздушни сили

Equipment

Bulgarian Land Force
The Bulgarian Land Forces are the ground warfare branch of the Military of Bulgaria. The Land Forces were established in 1878, when they were composed of anti-Ottoman militia (opalchentsi) and were the only branch of the Bulgarian military. The Land Forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence, previously known as the Ministry of War during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. Since 2004, the Land Forces are in a process of continued restructuring. Under the most recent reform, brigades were reduced to regiments, while several garrisons and brigades were disbanded. The Land Forces are functionally divided into 'Active" and "Reserve Forces". Their main functions include deterrence, defense, peace support and crisis management, humanitarian and rescue missions, as well as social functions within Bulgarian society. The Active Forces mainly have peacekeeping and defensive duties, and are further divided into Deployment Forces, Immediate Reaction, and Main Defense Forces. The Reserve Forces consists of Enhancement Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, and Training Grounds. They deal with planning and reservist preparation, armaments and equipment storage, training of formations for active forces rotation or increase in personnel. During peacetime the Land Forces maintain permanent combat and mobilization readiness. They become part of multinational military formations in compliance with international treaties Bulgaria is a Party of, participate in the preparation of the population, the national economy and the maintenance of wartime reserves and the infrastructure of the country for defense. In times of crisis the Land Forces' main tasks relate to participation in operations countering terrorist activities and defense of strategic facilities (such as nuclear power plants and major industrial facilities), assisting the security forces in preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, illegal armaments traffic and international terrorism. In case of low- and medium-intensity military conflict the Active Forces that are part of the Land Forces participate in carrying out the initial tasks for the defense of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. In case of a military conflict of high intensity the Land Forces, together with the Air Force and the Navy, form the defense group of the Bulgarian Military aiming at countering aggression and protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country.
Сухопътни войски на България


Bulgarian Navy
The Bulgarian Navy is the navy of the Republic of Bulgaria and forms part of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. It has been largely overlooked in the reforms that Bulgaria had to go through in order to comply with NATO standards, mostly because of the great expense involved and the fact that naval assaults are not considered to be a great concern for the country's security.[citation needed] That is why three of the four Romeo-class submarines (excluding Slava) are now docked and have been out of operation for some time. The last one was decommissioned in November 2011. Only the more modern frigates, corvettes and missile crafts are on active duty. The Bulgarian Navy is centred on two main bases. One is near the city of Varna. The other is Atiya Naval Base, near the city of Burgas.
Naval Forces Command, Varna
Naval Forces Staff
Naval Operations Center
Coastal Fundamental System for CIS Support
Coastal Information Detachment
Independent Electronic Surveillance Detachment
Command, Control and Communications Units
Naval Base Command
Naval Base Staff
Naval Base Location Varna
Naval Base Location Atia
Repair and Maintenance Center
Armament and Equipment Storage
Ship Divisions
1st Patrol Ships Division
3rd Mine Counter-Measure Division
4th Patrol Ships Division
6th Mine Counter-Measure Division
18th Support Ships Division
96th Support Ships Division
2nd Coastal Anti-Ship Missile and Artillery Battalion
Independent Naval Helicopter Air Base "Chayka"
63rd Naval Special Forces Reconnaissance Detachment "Black Sea Sharks"
Hydrographical Service of the Naval Forces
Equipment Storage Base of the Naval Forces
Military Police Company of the Naval Forces Command
A "Division" is the equivalent of land forces battalion or air force squadron as the Bulgarian Navy follows the Russian naval tradition, according to which an "Operational Squadron" or "Оперативная эскадра" is a temporary formation, an equivalent of a land forces division and in modern times a "Squadron" of the Russian Navy is an equivalent of a land forces corps.
According to the reform plans envisioned in the White Paper on Defence 2010, the two naval bases would be merged into one with two base facilities in Varna and Burgas. The manpower of the Navy would account for about 3,400 seamen.



Военноморски сили на Република България
Equipment
The Bulgarian Army represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Commander-in-Chief is the President of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defence is in charge of political leadership while overall military command remains in the hands of the Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defence (formerly called the Chief of the General Staff). There are three main branches, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces and the term "Bulgarian Army" encompasses them all together. The Bulgarian Armed Forces are headquartered in Sofia, where most of the Defence staff is based. Until recently the supreme military institution was the General Staff and the most senior military officer was known as the Chief of the General Staff. After the latest military reform has been implemented the General Staff became a department within the Ministry of Defence and for that matter its name had to be changed to match the new situation. For that reason the former GS became the Defence Staff and the supreme military commander became the Chief of Defence. Bulgaria's total military personnel as of 2014 is 37,100, of which 30,400 (80.1%) are active military personnel and 8,100 (11.9%) are civilian personnel. The Land Forces are the largest branch, with at least 18,000 men serving there. In terms of percentage, 53% of all Army personnel are in the Land Forces, 25% are in the Air Force, 13% are in the Navy and 9% are in the Joint Forces Command. Annual spending per soldier amounts to 30,000 leva (~ 15,000 euro) and is scheduled to increase to 43,600 leva by 2014.
