Bulgaria has submitted a request to Greece to strengthen its air defenses amid the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and the potential risk of strikes on the country with long-range weapons, including ballistic missiles.
Greece has responded to this request, and as Defense Minister Nikos Dendias stated, it will move a Patriot SAM battery to the north of the country, as well as deploy two F-16 fighters there for additional protection. In addition, officers of the Greek Air Force will go to Bulgaria to help coordinate joint actions, ekathimerini reports.
Read more: Cursed Jet? Bulgaria's F-16 Block 70 Aircraft Stumble at the Start
Although the scenario in which Iran suddenly decides to strike Bulgaria with ballistic missiles looks unlikely, Sofia seems to have decided to "play it safe" just in case. Recall that there was already a case before, albeit with the Shahed strike UAV, which flew to Cyprus and even hit the hangar with the unique American U-2 high–altitude reconnaissance aircraft. This drone was probably launched from the territory of Lebanon.
But even if we consider the possible missile strikes directly from Iran on Europe, Bulgaria is in the zone of attack of both cruise and ballistic missiles that Iran has at its disposal.
Currently, Bulgaria's air defense system consists mainly of Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems. It includes, in particular, eight S-300PMU launchers, from which, purely theoretically, it is possible to try to hit a ballistic missile. However, for the guaranteed destruction of this type of missile, modern kinetic interceptors are needed, which are used, for example, by the American Patriot SAM system. Recall that Bulgaria previously announced plans to arm itself with German IRIS-T SLM/SLX air defense systems.
It is worth noting that one Patriot battery is not enough to cover the entire territory of Bulgaria, but still this system is capable of protecting at least some part of the territory of this country. The range of interception of ballistic targets by the PAC-3 MSE missile is approximately 60 km.
As Defense Express reported, Civilian Radars Worked Fine for MiG-29s, But F-16s Now Need Bulgaria to Get GM400s.
Read more: Bulgaria Still Waiting for F-16 Jets as U.S. Cites Shortage of Tanker Aircraft
