Bulgaria’s Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told parliament on 14 October that the country is looking to join NATO’s counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) initiative, which it had previously rejected as too costly.
In February 2025, NATO announced that fifteen allied nations had pledged to develop more effective solutions to counter aerial threats including small drones operating at very low altitudes through the joint initiative. The same countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkiye and the United Kingdom), plus Czechia also launched a multinational programme in the field of passive air surveillance.
In September, Stoyanov said the NATO C-UAS initiative would stretch the Bulgarian defence budget and that it would duplicate efforts already underway in a European Union project.
However, following a series of maritime strikes in early October, in which two ships have been attacked by drones while sailing in the Black Sea, one of which was close to the Bulgarian coast, Stoyanov has said the defence ministry can find the funds to contribute and told parliament that it plans to join the C-UAS initiative by the end of the month.
He has also formally asked NATO to deploy C-UAS systems.
“We have sent letters and a request to the NATO Secretary General and the Supreme Allied Commander, urging them to strengthen our capabilities, which also means deploying additional forces on our territory. We are awaiting their decision,” Stoyanov said.
For more information
Ministry of Defence – Bulgaria
The September issue of the 2026 Unmanned Airspace Global Counter-UAS Systems Directory is now available. The guide is the world’s only comprehensive, continually updated directory of global C-UAS companies and systems. It itemises over 1,000 C-UAS products and services with performance details, company sales and partnerships arrangements. It is updated every month and broken down into niche sub-sectors (net-capture, missiles, intercept drones, detectors etc) to give C-UAS procurement and industry personnel a unique perspective of global C-UAS technical capabilities and market positions. It is available in word, PDF and excel formats and Unmanned Airspace readers are eligible for a range of discounts. For more information about the Directory please contact the editor Philip Butterworth-Hayes at philip@unmannedairspace.info.