US to Sell $1.5 Billion of Armored Vehicles to Bulgaria

Introduction

On Friday, the United States announced it had agreed to sell $1.5 billion of armored vehicles to Bulgaria in a huge new deal to arm a NATO member on the Russian border.

Details of the Deal

The US State Department said it notified Congress that it had approved the sale of 183 Stryker armored vehicles to Bulgaria, more than half of which were armored personnel carriers.

The ministry statement added that the sale would “improve Bulgaria’s ability to quickly deploy infantry and increase its ability to dispatch troops.”

According to the statement, “Bulgaria will use its increased capabilities to strengthen internal defenses and contain regional threats.”

Bulgaria’s Prior Actions

This deal came a month after Bulgaria, which has a large stockpile of Soviet weapons, agreed to send about 100 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.

It was the first step of its kind for Bulgaria, a country in the Balkans that has so far been reluctant to directly help Kyiv because of the strong historical ties between Sofia and Moscow.

US Military Assistance to NATO Members

The United States has aggressively increased its military assistance to NATO member countries.

On August 21, Washington agreed to a major $12 billion military deal with Warsaw that would provide the Polish army with about 100 Apache attack helicopters.

Source

Source: AFP