"There is a real danger that in the next 3-4 years we will not be able to carry out combat duty alone".

This was stated by Dimitar Stoyanov, Acting Minister of Defense when presenting the team and priorities in the sector. 

He pointed to the war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on repairs of Russian equipment as the reason, as well as the delay in the F-16 contract.

Under the project to acquire new combat aircraft, we have an offer for the second tranche of eight F-16 aircraft.

We have prepared a project for investment expenditure, which must be submitted to the Council of Ministers, and then to the National Assembly. 

We hope to succeed by the end of the offer period at the end of November, but we have also developed a backup option - until December 15, and we have already made such a question to the American side, he added. 

The Acting Minister of Defense also announced that contracts for the purchase of armaments are being prepared under the project for patrol ships.

"The first contract will be signed in mid-August, for the other armaments - by mid-September, but this does not end the work on this project," said Dimitar Stoyanov. 

"There is no modern army without sufficient financial provision," he also said.

"We will participate in the preparation of the budget procedure, in which we will bet that 2% of the GDP will be set aside for defense costs as early as 2023. This is one of the conditions for demanding accelerated modernization of the Bulgarian army," stated Dimitar Stoyanov.