Bulgaria Risks Delays if Firefighting Aircraft Aren’t Assigned to Air Force, Warns President Radev

President Rumen Radev has called for aerial firefighting equipment to be purchased for the Air Force rather than the Ministry of Interior. According to him, the Air Force already possesses the structure, trained crews, and operational capacity needed to deploy such resources effectively and without delay. He warned that starting from scratch within Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior would result in a lengthy, expensive, and risk-prone process - likely taking six to seven years to develop meaningful capabilities.

Radev stressed that enhancing existing capacities in the Air Force would not only be faster but also safer and more cost-effective. He pointed out the broader implications of institutional failure during crises. “When the state cannot protect the health, life, homes, and livelihoods of its citizens in moments of disaster, public trust inevitably erodes - especially when people sense that no real action is being taken, or that government support is absent during the most difficult times,” the president remarked.

In a separate comment, Radev confirmed that a decree to replace the Director of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) has already been prepared.

His statements came during the diploma awarding ceremony for new cadets at the Georgi S. Rakovski Military Academy, where the president underscored the importance of national security and preparedness in the face of increasing emergencies.