SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s parliament on Wednesday approved an $82.7 million purchase of Javelin anti-tank guided missiles from the United States to modernise the country’s army and protect its territorial integrity, BTA news agency reported.
In September, the U.S. State Department approved the possible sale of Javelin FGM-148F missiles and related equipment to Bulgaria for $114 million.
The purchase will provide the missiles necessary for the Stryker fighting vehicles that Bulgaria had agreed to obtain from the U.S. for $1.5 billion in 2023, lawmakers said.
BTA said 164 deputies voted in favour of the deal, in the 240-seat parliament.
Bulgaria, a member of NATO and the European Union, has stepped up efforts to replace its obsolete Soviet-era weapons systems with modern ones following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
It also plans to boost arms production as the EU aims to increase defence funding for member states.
(Reporting by Stoyan Nenov, writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Gareth Jones)
