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An airplane is not repaired in a month or two, like a car is repaired. Thus, War Minister Krassimir Karakachanov responded to the head of state’s criticism that the influx of our military pilots is dangerously small and this could endanger their lives and the lives of other people.
The response of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Krassimir Karakachanov, came after together with President Rumen Radev and Admiral Chief of Defense Emil Eftimov attended the presentation of the analysis of the work of the Armed Forces for 2020, reported news.bg.
Regarding the reduced raids by our pilots, Karakachanov explained that when there are one, two or three planes on an airbase, there is no way for the pilots to rack up a large raid. When there were more useful aircraft, like eight, the pilots would gain more experience.
“The raid will be overcome when the other eight F-16 aircraft, block 70, also enter service,” said the military minister.
According to him, in 2017, when he took office as Minister of War, the outlook was dire for the fighter jets (available MiGs) and for our Su-25 attack plane, which were about to land. Without the decision to repair the MiG-29 fighters and modernize the Su-25 attack aircraft, we would not be able to have any military aircraft now, he said.
“Literally for 2019, we are faced with the prospect of not having a single flying Su-25 aircraft by the end of the year, but right now there are already eight,” Karakachanov said.
The infected coronavirus fighters in the military are about 2%, which is mainly due to the personal discipline of the military. There are several deceased military personnel, one of whom was a professor at the Air Force School. “In general, the situation is under control,” said the defense minister.
Regarding the Ground Forces project, Karakachanov insisted that his project was not a problem, but a lot was happening. For the first time since the 1990s, the Bulgarian army’s main battle tank (T-72) is undergoing major repairs, Karakachanov recalled.
A modernization project has started for 44 of our main combat units for the Land Forces. The project for the armored vehicle was not terminated, and the procedure that Karakachanov proposed be terminated by the Council of Ministers, because the two companies that remained in the final offered prices higher than the amount voted by parliament.
“I had two alternatives before me: to enter parliament to ask for an increase in the amount, which I consider inconvenient not only because of COVID-19, or to look for other options,” explained Karakachanov.
The military repair plant “TEREM”, specialized in equipment for ground forces, is expected to prepare a report on whether it is possible to build this armored vehicle on the basis of the efforts of the Bulgarian military-industrial complex.
“When the report is ready, we can figure out how to approach it,” Karakachanov said, referring to the decisions that the next military minister will make.
“Either to continue the experience or to ask parliament for more money to continue things,” added Karakachanov.
Defense Chief Admiral Emil Eftimov declared the analysis of the work of the armed forces in 2020 very objective and reports a dynamic, difficult and challenging year.
“The general assessment is that the army has done a brilliant job,” Admiral Eftimov was adamant.
He assured that the commanders and all the personnel of the Armed Forces did the assigned tasks well. Regarding the president’s criticism of the very low number of raids, Admiral Eftimov pointed out that these are functional units and aeronautical training provides basic levels of training and then the pilots improve their training.
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