Bulgaria has announced on Friday, July 19, 2019, a tender for the supply of 150 wheeled armored vehicles for its armed forces. The Bulgaria Ministry of Defense has invited four Defense Companies to send an offer, including Rheinmetall- Krauss-Maffei Wegmann from Germany, Nexter from France, Patria from Finland and General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS).

The four candidates for the Bulgarian tender are Nexter Systems with the VBCI, GDELS with the Piranha 5, Rheinmetall/KMW wit the Boxer and Patria with the AMV. (Picture source Army Recognition)

In February 2019, Bulgarian Ministry of Defence has delayed the procurement of 150 new wheeled armored vehicles to equip three battalion-size battlegroups for a mechanized brigade. Fo this new tender, Bulgaria plans to select a winner for December 2019.

In June, the Bulgarian defense ministry has announced a plan to spend €1.75 billion on rearmament programs between 2017 and 2029. The programs envisage purchasing new combat aircraft for €750 million, multi-purpose modular patrol vessels for €410 million and military equipment for land forces for €610 million.

Currently, Bulgarian armed forces are mainly equipped with Soviet-made wheeled armored vehicles including BTR-60PB 8x8 armored vehicle personnel carrier and BRDM-2 4x4 armored vehicle. Bulgaria has also developed a modernized version of the Soviet-made BTR-60PB, called BTR-60PB-MD, with a new engine, a new design of the hull with side doors and additional protection.

The wheeled armored vehicles built by the four candidates for the tender are the Boxer from the Companies Rheinmetall- Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the VBCI from Nexter, the AMV from Patria and Piranha 5 from General Dynamics European Land Systems.