Bulgarian Armed Forces

Bulgarian Army
Bulgarian Army
Българска армия
	Logo of Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria
Founded	7 May 1878
Current form	2002
Service branches	Bulgarian Land Forces; Bulgarian Navy; Bulgarian Air Force;
Headquarters	Sofia
Website	mod.bg/en/ba.html
Leadership
President	Rumen Radev
Prime Minister	Dimitar Glavchev
Minister of Defence	Atanas Zapryanov
Chief of the Defence	Admiral Emil Eftimov
Personnel
Military age	18
Conscription	No
Reaching military; age annually	(no)
Active personnel	36,950
Reserve personnel	3,000
Deployed personnel	See below
Expenditure
Budget	$2.34 billion (2024)
Percent of GDP	2.05% (2024)
Industry
Domestic suppliers	TEREM; Arsenal AD; VMZ Sopot; Samel 90;
Foreign suppliers	Austria; Czech Republic; France; Germany; United Kingdom; United States; Former Suppliers; Soviet Union; Russia; Austria-Hungary; Nazi Germany
Annual exports	$2.3 billion (2022)
Related articles
History	Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878); Serbo-Bulgarian War; First Balkan War; Second Balkan War; World War I; War of the Stray Dog; World War II; Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia; Iraq War; War in Afghanistan; 2011 military intervention in Libya;
Ranks	Military ranks of Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Army (Bulgarian: Българска армия, romanized: Bŭlgarska armiya), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in the hands of the Defense Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defense. There are three main branches of the Bulgarian military, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces (the term "Bulgarian Army" refers to them encompassed all together).

Throughout history, the Army has played a major role in defending the country's sovereignty. Only several years after its inception in 1878, Bulgaria became a regional military power and was involved in several major wars – Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885), First Balkan War (1912–13), Second Balkan War (1913), First World War (1915–1918) and Second World War (1941–1945), during which the Army gained considerable combat experience. During the Cold War, the People's Republic of Bulgaria maintained one of the largest militaries in the Warsaw Pact, numbering an estimated 152,000 troops in 1988.^[4] Since the Fall of Communism, the political leadership has decided to pursue a pro-NATO policy, thus reducing military personnel and weaponry. Bulgaria joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 29 March 2004.

The patron saint of the Bulgarian Army is St. George. The Armed Forces Day or St. George's Day (6 May) is an official holiday in Bulgaria.

^ ^a ^b International Institute for Strategic Studies (15 February 2023). The Military Balance 2023. London: Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 9781032508955.
^ ^a ^b "Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014-2021)" (PDF). NATO Public Diplomacy Division. 11 June 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
^ "Bulgaria exported Weapons for 2.3 Billion Euros to over 50 Countries from January to August 2022".
^ "Bulgaria – Military Personnel". Lcweb2.loc.gov. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

[IISS1-1] International Institute for Strategic Studies (15 February 2023). The Military Balance 2023. London: Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 9781032508955.

[NATO-2] "Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014-2021)" (PDF). NATO Public Diplomacy Division. 11 June 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.

[3] "Bulgaria exported Weapons for 2.3 Billion Euros to over 50 Countries from January to August 2022".

[4] "Bulgaria – Military Personnel". Lcweb2.loc.gov. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

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