Bulgaria to spend 1.5 billion U.S. dollars on defense

Bulgaria would spend 1.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 on defense procurement, such as acquisition of new systems and support, officials said here Thursday.

Presenting the new investment plan for the next 10 years, Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov said 13 projects, such as purchase of eight NATO-compatible multirole fighters and anti-ship missile complexes for three Bulgarian E-71 Wielingen class frigates were included in the plan.

Building a battalion battle group with the support of 16 MiG-29 fighters made up the backbone of Bulgaria's current air defense, Angelov said.

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