site.btaBulgarian Armed Forces to Take Part in Multinational Exercise Defender 2023

For another year, the Bulgarian Armed Force will take part in Multinational Exercise Defender 2023, led by U.S. Army Europe and Africa. Similar exercises have already been conducted in 2017, 2019 and 2021 with the aim of joint training of military formations from NATO member and partner countries to contribute to the development of combat capabilities and enhance the interoperability of the armed forces in the collective defence system, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said Monday.  

Defender 2023 brings together multi-stage exercises that are conducted in three successive phases - Swift Response, Immediate Response and Saber Guardian.

Bulgaria will host two of the related exercises in Defender 2023 - the tactical live-fire exercises Defence Shield 2023 and Pirin Guard 2023. Military units from the Bulgarian Armed Forces will also take part in the Wet Gap Crossing exercise in Romania. The exercises with Bulgarian participation are united under the name Balkan 2023 under the overall leadership of the Joint Forces Command.  

The tactical live-fire exercise Defensive Shield 2023 will be held from May 17 to May 29, 2023, at the Novo Selo Training Area. A multinational battle group will be deployed during Defensive Shield, which will include a mechanised battalion reinforced with a tank company, a self-propelled artillery battery and nuclear, chemical and bacteriological protection formations from the Bulgarian Land Forces, formations from the US Army, an Italian formation from the NATO Multinational Battle Group in Bulgaria, as well as close air support forces and assets from the Bulgarian Air Force.

The Pirin Sentinel 2023 tactical live-fire exercise will take place from May 17 to June 2, 2023 at the Koren Training Area. During the exercise, the headquarters of a multinational brigade and a multinational battle group will be deployed, which will include a mechanised battalion, a tank company, a jet and anti-tank battery from the Bulgarian Land Forces, a Greek tank platoon, a tank platoon from the NATO Multinational Battle Group in Bulgaria, as well as close air support forces and assets from the Bulgarian and Greek Air Forces.

These two exercises are part of Defender 2023's second phase, Immediate Response 2023.

The Wet Gap Crossing exercise will take place from May 25 to June 11, 2023 in the area of Bordusani, Romania. It will involve a pontoon-bridge engineer company from the 55th Engineer Regiment - Belene, close air support assault aircraft from Bezmer Air Base and a Military Police platoon.

Wet Gap Crossing is part of the third phase of Saber Guardian 2023, the third phase of Defender 2023.

A National structure (EXCON BGR) will be deployed in the area of the Charalitsa Air Base, under the supervision of the Joint Forces Command, which will exercise overall direction and control of the Defence Shield 2023 and Pirin Guard 2023 tactical live-fire exercises on the Bulgarian side and will coordinate the participation of the Bulgarian Armed Forces in the Wet Gap Crossing exercise on the territory of Romania. It will coordinate with the Combined Exercise Control Group (CECG) for the related exercise Defender 2023 in Grafenwohr, Germany.

The redeployment of forces and assets of the Bulgarian Armed Forces along the republican road and railway infrastructure from Blagoevgrad and Pleven to the training ranges Novo Selo and Koren is foreseen in view of the conduct of the exercises in the above-mentioned periods from Tuesday, 16 May. Bulgarian airspace will also be used. Equipment from the armies of the participating countries will also be moved on the national road and rail network.