Exercise Breeze 2026 Leaves President Sure of Navy's Readiness

Atanas Malakchiev, BTA correspondent Galya Teneva

The President of Bulgaria, Iliana Iotova, reviews the guard of honour at the Port of Burgas during Exercise Breeze 2026, July 17, 2026 (BTA Photo/Hristo Stefanov)

Burgas, on the Black Sea,

17.07.2026 14:47

(BTA)

President Iliana Iotova said on Friday she was reassured of the readiness of the Bulgarian Navy after observing the national naval exercise "Breeze 2026" aboard the frigate Drazki.

"I am extremely pleased with what I have seen so far. I feel reassured about the sovereignty of our maritime border and the Black Sea. At a time when hostilities are taking place just a few hundred kilometers from here, our military is at its post, and I thank them," Iotova said.

The head of State was observing episodes of the Breeze 2026 national naval exercise with international participation.

Iotova described the exercise as extremely important against the backdrop of the war in the Black Sea region. According to her, Bulgaria must accelerate investments in defense, including in the Navy, as the modernization of equipment remains insufficient despite the steps taken to acquire new capabilities.

The Commander of the Naval Forces, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, reported that during "Breeze 2026" all planned tasks were completed and joint actions with allied forces, as well as procedures according to NATO standards, were practiced.

In the waters of Burgas Bay, the Breeze 2026 participants demonstrated real-life actions to contain a fire aboard a vessel, deal with the consequences of an incident involving a merchant ship, repel attacks by an airborne adversary, attack a submarine, and carry out other operations, the Defence Ministry said.

Breeze 2026 involves ships, aircraft, unmanned underwater vehicles, diving teams and staff officers from the naval forces of Bulgaria, Albania, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United States, Turkiye and France. Also participating are representatives of Bulgaria’s Joint Forces Command, Joint Special Operations Command, Land Forces and Air Force, the G. S. Rakovski National Defence College, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, as well as ships from the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group.

/DS, VE/