Israel, Bulgaria Sign Arms Industry Deal

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria and Israel signed military accords for joint army trainings and defense industry cooperation Jan. 15, according to Bulgaria's defense ministry.

The deals were signed during a two-day visit by Bulgarian Defence Minister Anyu Angelov, who arrived in Tel Aviv on Jan. 15 for talks with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak.

The training accord "aimed to broaden defense cooperation between the two countries through conducting joined training exercises," his ministry said in a statement.

Angelov and Barak also oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the defense industry, including the production and trade of defense produce and joint research and development work.

The defense industry is an important employer in Bulgaria. According to a recent media report, in 2011 Bulgaria exported $380 million (300 million euros) worth of arms, although the sector has shrunk to a 10th of its Soviet-era size.

Bulgaria, Israel to Sign Cooperation Deals

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria's defense minister will sign two accords with Israel while on a two-day visit to Israel that starts Jan. 16, his office said.

Anu Angelov will ink a deal on increasing cooperation on military training and another on closer ties between the two countries' armaments industries, the Bulgarian defense ministry said.

The defence industry is an important employer in Bulgaria, exporting $380 million (300 million euros) worth of arms in 2011, according to a newspaper report, although the sector is a 10th of the size of during Soviet times.

Bulgaria and Israel enjoy close ties, helped by Bulgaria having been the only ally of Nazi Germany to have saved Jews from the death camps during World War II. Angelov will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and meet with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on his trip.

Bulgaria 2011 Arms Sales Total $380M: Report

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria's defense industry has escaped unscathed from the general economic crisis, with its exports hitting $380 million in 2011, Pressa newspaper reported Jan. 12.

It cited figures by the Bulgarian Defense Industry Association (BDIA). Such statistics are usually kept secret.

The organization, which groups Bulgaria's major arms and munitions makers, refused to specify where its sales went to.

The newspaper however cited Algeria, Afghanistan, the United States and Iraq as traditional buyers of Bulgarian light weapons and ammunition.

Bulgaria's defense industry exports had stood at $200 million in 2008, Pressa said citing data from the same association.

"It is still hard to compare the situation with the years before (the fall of communism in) 1989," BDIA co-chairman Stefan Vodenicharov told the newspaper.

Before the end of communism, Bulgaria's armaments industry was around 10 times the size it is now, employing 115,000 people and shipped abroad an annual $700 million to $800 million worth of armaments - at prices from then.

But the advent of democracy, the disbanding of the Warsaw Pact and a number of international arms sales embargoes to countries in Africa and the Arab world plunged the industry into a deep crisis in the 1990s.

The majority of production facilities have since been privatized with the government recently selling its remaining stock in the Arsenal Kazanlak light arms and munitions plant, the only licensed producer of Russian Kalashnikov assault rifles during the Cold War.

It had also prepared a strategy to soon put on the table VMZ Sopot, its biggest defense firm to remain fully state-owned.

Bulgaria To Shift Arms Exports to EU, NATO Markets

SOFIA, Bulgaria - After decades concentrating on Asia and Africa, Bulgaria plans to shift its arms exports to markets in the European Union and NATO, according to a new defense strategy presented July 5.
Currently, arms exports to EU and NATO countries do not exceed 10 percent of Bulgaria's annual defense sales abroad, which stand at about 250 million lev ($185 million), said the document, which was drafted jointly by the economy and defense ministries.

"Maintaining this tendency would hinder Bulgaria's integration and have a negative effect on the industry's competitiveness," it added.
The strategy has yet to be approved by the government during the next few months.
"This strategy is the first real effort on the part of any government since the fall of communism to offer a long-term development vision for the defense industry," Economy Minister Traicho Traikov said at the document's presentation July 5.
Under communism, Bulgaria's arms and munitions industry employed 115,000 people and shipped abroad some $700 million to $800 million worth of production.
But the collapse of communism, the disbanding of the Warsaw Pact defense treaty and a number of international arms sales embargoes to countries in Africa and the Arab world plunged the once booming industry into a deep crisis in the 1990s.
The majority of production facilities were privatized, but failure to attract foreign investors put them in the hands of small local buyers with limited potential for new investments.
An industry source told AFP on July 5 that Bulgaria still managed to preserve some of its markets in the Middle East, India and Algeria.
The new strategy will aim to keep these traditional arms export partners by forming joint ventures and common research and development projects.
Another major goal was to encourage the Bulgarian army to buy more local defense equipment by developing it to become fully compatible with NATO standards and also engage in collective alliance defense projects from 2018 on.
Bulgaria's defense industry currently employs some 15,000 people and makes up 0.5 percent of the general industry share in the country's gross domestic product, according to the document.

Bulgaria Fishes For Fighter Jet Offers

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria's defense ministry said Feb. 2 it had requested information from France, Germany, Sweden and the U.S. on the potential supply of new or used fighter jets for its air force.
The letters, sent in January, requested from the four countries "information on their capabilities for logistical support, equipment, training, financial schemes, exploitation period, etc," the ministry said in a statement.

"The request concerns the purchase of eight new or used multifunctional fighters," it added.
The ministry however noted that "at this stage there is no clarity on the financial parameters of the project."
No company names were mentioned in the statement but the newspaper Standart reported on Feb. 2 that Sofia was eyeing offers from major fighter jet producers like European defense giant EADS, Sweden's Gripen and U.S. Lockheed Martin.
Sofia will develop the parameters of its investment project based on the information it receives from the four countries, before officially calling a tender for the fighters, expected at the beginning of 2012 at the earliest, according to the defense ministry.
The acquisition of new multipurpose fighters for Bulgaria's air force had so far been delayed due to severe financial constraints.
A 2007 U.S. document leaked by WikiLeaks and cited by Bulgarian media on Feb. 2 revealed strong U.S. pressure on Bulgaria not to acquire new fighters, but to purchase second-hand U.S. F-16 or F-18 aircraft instead.
In case Bulgaria decided to acquire new combat aircraft, "U.S. manufacturers will, of course, be in this hunt," the cable added.

Bulgaria To Sell Off Defense Firm VMZ Sopot

SOFIA, Bulgaria - The Bulgarian government on Jan. 27 said it had agreed to a strategy for the full privatization of defense giant VMZ Sopot.
According to a statement, there will be a public tender of 100 percent of VMZ's capital, with potential buyers required to have previous experience in defense production and management.

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They must also present a three-year business plan for the firm's development under the sale proposal, which still has to be approved by parliament.
Bulgaria's biggest defense firm and the last of the country's communist-era defense giants to have remained state-owned, VMZ Sopot produces a large range of missiles and artillery ammunition, as well as civil-use machinery and household appliances.
A lack of strategic investors in previous defense company tenders has led other state-owned firms to morph into joint-stock companies, owned primarily by their managers and staff.
Bulgaria's defense industry exports stood at 145 million euros ($200 million) in 2009, according to economy ministry data.