Bulgaria Defense Market - Size and trends, budget allocation, regulations, key acquisitions, competitive landscape and forecast, 2024-2029

Bulgaria Defense Market - Size and trends, budget allocation, regulations, key acquisitions, competitive landscape and forecast, 2024-2029 report provides the market size forecast and the projected growth rate for the next five years. The report covers industry analysis including the key market drivers, emerging technology trends, and major challenges faced by market participants. It also offers insights regarding key factors and government programs that are expected to influence the demand for military platforms over the forecast period.

Bulgaria’s defense spending, like most other European nations, is set to increase notably compared to recent years as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the severe political fallout leading to a shifting security landscape on the continent. Whilst spending had fluctuated in the historic 2020-23 period, its low point was $1.1 billion in 2020, but a major uplift agreed in a usually fractious political environment has seen a budget of $2.1 billion set for 2024, to be sustained through 2025, and a the analyst forecast for continued increases to potentially reach $3.1 billion by 2029 as procurements continue to deliver modernization across the air, land and sea domains.

Specific drivers of this spending include a contract for a further eight F-16s, ongoing and planned programs for replacement frigates, patrol boats, and Stryker armored vehicles, as well as increased commitments to NATO deployments and EU stabilisation and peacekeeping efforts as tensions in Europe rise. A meeting of Bulgaria’s national security council just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine lamented the poor state of the country’s military capabilities and committed to improvements, and whilst there are aspirations to acquire fleets of modern combat vehicles and improve logistical support capacity, Bulgaria faces significant challenges in maintaining higher levels of spending: corruption issues, political divisions and a struggling and technologically outdated defense industry are all hurdles to overcome before any substantial modernisation may take hold in the Bulgarian defense market. Additionally, spending on major procurement programs often comes in the form of separate votes in the nation’s parliament which may reflect spending coming from the ‘central budget’ rather than the MoD spend, which can further obscure true levels of sustained defense spending.

Key Highlights

• Modernization of equipment and contribution to NATO are key factors driving defense expenditure.
• Major ongoing procurement program include procurement of F-16V Fighter Aircraft, Stryker APCs and new Patrol Boats.

Scope

This report offers a detailed analysis of Bulgaria's defense market, with market size forecasts covering the next five years. It also offers insights into the strategy, security environment and defense market dynamics of the country. Various sections covered in the report are as follows :

• Defense Budget Assessment: This chapter covers the defense budgeting process, market size forecasts, drivers of expenditure, and allocation analysis. It also examines key market trends and insights.
• Military Doctrine and Security Environment: Detailed analysis of military doctrine, strategic alliances, geopolitical dynamics, and the political, social, and economic factors influencing the security environment.
• Market Entry Strategy and Regulations: This section elaborates on essential aspects of procurement policy and market regulations, market entry routes, key defense procurement bodies and major deals.
• Market attractiveness and emerging opportunities: It evaluates the attractiveness of various defense sectors, indicating cumulative market value, and highlights the top sectors and defense segments by value in the country.
• Defense Platforms Import and Export Dynamics: Provides an understanding of the defense platform imports and exports of the country from 2016 to 2023. Both imports and exports of the country are provided in terms of value ($M) and volume (units), categorized by country and sector.
• Defense Platform Acquisitions: It offers an overview of defense platform acquisitions by value. It lists current defense procurement schedules for the major ongoing and planned military platforms that have been formulated in the country and elaborates on the reasons leading to the procurement of the same.
• Fleet Size: Outlines the current fleet sizes of the Army, Air Force, and Navy, detailing the year of acquisition, units in service, and the prime contractor for the equipment.
• Competitive Landscape: Profiles the main defense companies operating in the country, offering insights into their business overviews, latest contracts, and financial results.

Reasons to Buy

• Determine prospective investment areas based on a detailed trend analysis of the Bulgaria defense market over the next five years
• Gain in-depth understanding about the underlying factors driving demand for different defense and internal security segments in the Bulgaria market and identify the opportunities offered.
• Strengthen your understanding of the market in terms of demand drivers, market trends, and the latest technological developments, among others
• Identify the major threats that are driving the Bulgaria defense market providing a clear picture about future opportunities that can be tapped, resulting in revenue expansion
• Channel resources by focusing on the ongoing programs that are being undertaken by the Bulgaria government
• Make correct business decisions based on in-depth analysis of the competitive landscape consisting of detailed profiles of the top defense equipment providers in the country. The company profiles also includes information about the key products, alliances, recent contract awarded, and financial analysis, wherever available