6000 military personnel to take part in Nato exercise in Bulgaria in May-June 2019

At the initiative of Nato, a series of national and multinational military exercises will be held in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and North Macedonia in May and June 2019, to strengthen security measures in South Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence said.

From May 26 to June 28 2019, there will be military exercises in Bulgaria.

These will involve military personnel and equipment from Bulgaria, the United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Greece, North Macedonia, Canada and Italy.

About 6000 people, up to 1200 units of equipment and armament and up to 80 military aircraft will be involved, the Defence Ministry said.

The exercises are to be conducted in accordance with the US-Bulgaria agreement on defence co-operation, the plan for preparation of Bulgaria’s armed forces in 2019, and for US training in Bulgaria and abroad in 2019, the statement said.

General planning of the exercises is carried out under the direction of the US Army Commander in Europe, together with host countries. The leadership and control of the exercises will be carried out by a multinational structure that will be located in Grafenwöhr in Germany.

A national structure will be deployed under the leadership of the Joint Forces Command in the region of the Bulgarian-American facility of the Novo Selo Training Field, which will carry out the general management and control of the exercises on the territory of Bulgaria and will co-ordinate the participation of the Bulgarian armed forces in exercises outside the country.

The director of the national structure for leadership and control of the training will be Major-General Ivan Lalov, deputy commander of the Joint Force Command.

“Participation in these exercises is an expression of allegiance, cohesiveness and mutual commitment to security in the Black Sea region. The aim is to improve operational capabilities and achieve compatibility in troops at national and allied levels,” the Defence Ministry said.

(Archive photo of Exercise Saber Guardian: US embassy Sofia)

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