Bulgaria approves Naval Strike Missile buy amid Black Sea buildup

WARSAW, Poland — In a bid to bolster the country’s Black Sea coast defense capabilities, the Bulgarian government has approved a project to purchase the Naval Strike Missile coastal defense system for the nation’s military.

The procurement, which is to be carried out as a government-to-government deal with the United States, is estimated to be worth around $205 million, according to the country’s outgoing Defense Minister Atanas Zaprianov.

Following the Cabinet’s decision, the acquisition of anti-ship missiles developed by Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace will now be submitted for clearance by the National Assembly, Bulgaria’s unicameral parliament. Zaprianov said that payments for the missiles are expected to be concentrated in the years 2029 to 2030, local news outlet Novinite - Sofia News Agency reported.

The caretaker government which approved the program is fulfilling its responsibilities until a new Cabinet is formed following a snap election anticipated for this spring. At the same time, given Bulgaria’s broad political consensus on the planned procurement, the parliament vote is expected to be a formality.

Last July, the U.S. State Department approved the foreign military sale of the Naval Strike Missile system and related gear for an estimated cost of $620 million. The authorized package includes missiles in several variants, mobile fire control centers with associated communications equipment, launch and transport vehicles, Link-16 multifunctional information distribution systems – joint tactical radio systems (MIDS-JTRS), as well as related training and spare parts assistance.

Amid Russia’s increasingly belligerent activities in the Black Sea, Bulgaria is set to join its neighbor Romania which has also purchased Naval Strike Missiles for its armed forces. The weapon is a sea-skimming, over-the-horizon missile enabled with a range that exceeds 185 kilometers (115 miles), according to data from Kongsberg.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——为了加强该国黑海沿岸防御能力，保加利亚政府已批准一项为该国军队购买海军打击导弹海岸防御系统的项目。

据即将卸任的该国国防部长阿塔纳斯·扎普里亚诺夫称，此次采购将以政府对政府与美国之间的协议形式进行，预计价值约为 2.05 亿美元。

根据内阁的决定，采购挪威康斯伯格防务与航空航天公司研制的反舰导弹的计划将提交保加利亚国民议会（保加利亚一院制议会）审批。据索非亚新闻社Novinite报道，扎普里亚诺夫表示，导弹款项预计将在2029年至2030年间集中支付。

批准该项目的看守政府正在履行其职责，直至今年春季提前大选后组建新内阁。与此同时，鉴于保加利亚在计划采购方面已达成广泛的政治共识，预计议会投票只是走个形式。

去年7月，美国国务院批准了一项价值约6.2亿美元的海军打击导弹系统及相关装备的对外军售。获批的军售方案包括多种型号的导弹、配备相关通信设备的移动火控中心、发射和运输车辆、Link-16多功能信息分发系统——联合战术无线电系统（MIDS-JTRS），以及相关的培训和备件援助。

在俄罗斯于黑海地区日益咄咄逼人的背景下，保加利亚即将效仿邻国罗马尼亚，为其武装部队采购海军打击导弹。根据康斯伯格公司的资料，这种导弹是一种掠海飞行、超视距导弹，射程超过185公里（115英里）。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。