site.btaBulgarian Servicepersons Demonstrate Technical, Operational Compatibility in NATO Exercise CWIX 2026

Servicepersons from the Defence Ministry and the Bulgarian Army demonstrated technical and operational interoperability capabilities as part of NATO's Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise (CWIX) 2026, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry reported Thursday. The exercise took place at the NATO Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and at an additional field test site deployed near the airport, from June 8 to 26, 2026. Experts from NATO and partner countries participated. 

The exercise aimed to improve operational and technical interoperability between allied and national command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance,  and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems. 

The CWIX exercise, led by NATO Allied Command Transformation, is a key forum for testing and improving C4ISR systems. This year’s edition brought together nearly 4,000 experts from Alliance member countries, partner states, and representatives of the defence industry, with the task of ensuring that national and allied systems can function effectively in a shared operational environment. A key focus was testing the capabilities of allied and national C4ISR systems in the context of digital transformation, multi-domain operations, and a federated network environment.

The Bulgarian national exercise director was Colonel Krasimir Yordanov from the Communications and Information Systems (CIS) Directorate at the Defence Staff, and the deputy national director and information security officer was Lieutenant Colonel Valeri Tonev from the same directorate.

The Joint Forces Command, Mobile CIS, and the Communications and Information Support and Cyber Defence Command participated with personnel and technical equipment in the Federated Mission Networking Core Services (FMN CS) domain. During the exercise, technical and operational interoperability tests were conducted on key services of NATO’s Federated Mission Networks (FMN). The Land Forces participated with personnel and technical setups for the Harris C2 command and control system at the tactical level. Issues related to the exercise’s operational scenario were addressed, and technical tests of the system were conducted. The Army and the Navy also participated by providing representatives to serve as analysts in the exercise’s analysis group.

On the day for high-ranking guests at CWIX 2026 June 24, the Bulgarian delegation included Lieutenant General Yavor Mateev, military representative of the Chief of Defence at Bulgaria's Permanent Delegation to NATO, and Brigadier General Dimitar Hlebarov, Director of the CIS Directorate at the Defence Staff. The official guests were shown the interoperability capabilities of command and control systems during operations across multiple domains and in a federated network environment.