Bulgaria Plans to Purchase Five Additional IRIS-T Air Defense Systems

Bulgaria plans to purchase five additional IRIS-T air defense systems.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said this before a Council of Ministers meeting, according to news agency BGNES.

He recalled Bulgaria’s participation in the European Sky Shield Initiative and noted that the country has already signed a contract for one IRIS-T air defense system.

The Bulgarian government is now approving an investment expenditure project to purchase five more such systems.
“I hope that the agreement will be concluded within a few weeks,” Radev said.

According to him, the purchase aims to defend Bulgarian territory and contribute to NATO’s overall defense capabilities.

IRIS-T for Bulgaria

Bulgaria ordered its first medium-range IRIS-T SLM air defense system from Diehl Defence in October 2024 to strengthen its air defense.

Before that, in August, the country’s parliament approved the purchase of the German air defense systems. Overall, funding was planned for one battery, with an option to purchase five additional batteries by 2032.

The purchase was reported to be worth $199 million. Part of the cost was to be financed through compensation received for Bulgaria’s donation of military equipment to Ukraine in 2024.

Initially, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defense reached an agreement with the German government and Diehl Defence on the purchase of the air defense systems. At the time, plans included purchasing the IRIS-T in the SLM configuration, as well as the longer-range SLX variant, which Bulgaria plans to buy as a single battery in the future.

IRIS-T Air Defense System

The IRIS-T system is designed to destroy aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs, as well as cruise missiles. The system has medium- and short-range variants equipped with different missile types. The IRIS-T SLM can engage aerial targets at ranges of up to 40 km, while the SLS version can engage targets at ranges of up to 12 km.

The IRIS-T SLM has demonstrated its effectiveness in intercepting aerial targets in Ukraine, prompting many European countries to order these systems.