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06 12 2015

NCI Agency begins feasibility study for Bulgaria's Air Surveillance Capability

On Thursday 4 June 2015, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence and the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) commenced the feasibility study for Bulgaria's Air Surveillance Capability. The event was marked with a signature ceremony hosted by the Bulgarian Delegation to NATO. The study is one of the top nine priority projects outlined in Bulgaria's National Programme, which lays out the strategy and implementation plan for modernizing their armed forces.

The signature ceremony was attended by the Permanent Representative to NATO, Ambassador Ivan Naydenov; the Military Representative to NATO and EU, Lieutenant General Galimir Phelivanov; Defence Advisor, Ms Teodora Genchovska; Deputy Military Representative, COL Krasimir Kanev; Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) Representative, Mr Petko Aleksandrov; and the C3 Representative, LTC Stefan Stanchev from Bulgarian Delegation to NATO. The NCI Agency was represented by the General Manager, Mr Koen Gijsbers, and the Director Demand Management, Dr Velizar Shalamanov.

The NCI Agency and Bulgaria

The NCI Agency has a longstanding cooperation agreement in the domain of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) activities with Bulgaria through a Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2010 and extended on 27 March 2015 for another five years.

The air surveillance capability is a critical contribution to the implementation of NATO's Readiness Action Plan (RAP), the Alliance's top priority before the Warsaw Summit in July 2016. As one of the Territorial Host Nations for the extension of NATO's new Air Command and Control System, building an enhanced and effective recognized air picture of Bulgaria is of significant importance.

NCI Agency's support to Bulgaria is part of an overall effort in assisting NATO nations with the RAP implementation, and supporting national modernization programs in the C4ISR area, in line with the "NATO Interoperability: Secure, Affordable, Fast, Easy (NISAFE) initiative."

The NCI Agency is responsible for providing advanced communications and information technology to support NATO operations and missions. It operates and defends NATO networks.