English
VarnaProcurement
Bulgarian Navy tenders small drones for coastal and maritime surveillance
Two lots worth up to €33,333.33 excl. VAT – separate from the €80m SAFE counter-drone programme.
VarnaProcurement
Two lots worth up to €33,333.33 excl. VAT – separate from the €80m SAFE counter-drone programme.
SofiaGeopolitics
The defence ministers agreed on more surveillance and intelligence sharing. Bulgaria will take the issue to the UN Security Council.
Black Sea, off Shabla and ByalaShipping
Eleven sailors are missing. PM Radev called an extraordinary Security Council meeting and summoned the Russian ambassador.
Black Sea, off SinemoretsNaval Warfare
The find is reported by the Defence Ministry's Bulgarian Army outlet. Who launched the missile, and when, is not stated.
ShablaDrones
The Air Force and Navy located the cargo ship EMIL 40 nm east of Cape Shabla.
Open sources: satellite imagery, shipping and flight data, verified footage — what they show and what they do not.
OSINTBulgaria
The report describes navigation interference from the Baltic to the Black Sea. There is no independent confirmation, and the dates of the alleged event and publication are in the future relative to the time of this analysis.
OSINTBlack Sea
Black SeaNaval Warfare
The Bulgaria–Romania–Türkiye group is on its 12th activation. Six drifting mines have been neutralised in Bulgaria's EEZ since 2022.
Sofia / WashingtonDrones
The state offers Rheinmetall a Defence Ministry site instead of the original plan near Sopot.
According to media reports, Italian, British and US aircraft flew simultaneously over the Black Sea on 3 November. The British aircraft was east of the Bulgarian coast. The reports originate from a single source and do not confirm a joint NATO operation.
OSINTKerch Strait
The investigation claims that the pollution has not been fully cleared and that Rosneft has remained outside the main claims. Court reports confirm compensation awards totalling nearly 85 billion roubles, but not whether the money has been recovered.
In-depth analysis and overviews of what matters most: what happened, why it matters and what comes next.
AnalysisSofia, Bulgaria
Iliana Yotova won the runoff with 57.6%, and for the first time in years Bulgaria's head of state and prime minister will pursue one foreign and defence policy. The vote came amid ships sunk in Bulgaria's economic zone, a dispute over a donation from a company bearing the name of a Ukrainian drone maker, and protests outside the Presidency. What is established and what remains a claim.
AnalysisWarsaw
The Constitutional Tribunal’s previous leadership and some commentators speak of a coup; former tribunal presidents of the president’s assault on the court. In Flank’s assessment this is a sharp institutional war, not a coup in the classic sense, but it weakens an ally on which the defence of the eastern flank depends.
AnalysisKaliakra
The attack on CONTSHIP JET exposed the difference between surveillance, rescue and preventing a strike. In Flank’s assessment, the central question is whether the announced regional coordination will translate into effective warning and protection, without substituting political assumptions for the unknown perpetrator.
The essentials on defence and security in Bulgaria, the region and the Black Sea, in your inbox once a week.
Poland
Romania
Russia
Türkiye
Ukraine