Drone operators competition held near Kazanlak

Bulgarian Land Forces drone operators took part in a competition at the military training ground near Kazanlak on June 13. The completion was held under the auspices of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev.

Nine teams took part in the competition, and during the event representatives of Bulgaria's defence industry demonstrated the combat capabilities of drones manufactured by them as well as anti-drone systems. "I have long insisted that the Bulgarian army should begin to use such systems and this is already a fact," the head of state said and expressed his satisfaction that the armed forces are beginning to train personnel.

"Today is indeed a historic day because we are opening the door to the creation of a new kind of troops - those of unmanned systems,” the President said.

"This is an absolute requirement of the future. We see what is happening in the conflicts in the Caucasus, in Ukraine, in Gaza. Without such systems, it is unthinkable to mount an effective modern operation without them. These are affordable technologies with a huge effect in all areas.I am glad that we are finally starting to train people to operate drones in the Bulgarian Armed Forces," he said.

Radev stressed that the purchase and delivery of such systems should happen quickly. He also called for expanding training at military training institutions and building a national centre to train drone operators.