Spanish authorities have decided to send six Eurofighter jets and nearly 100 military personnel to Bulgaria in February as part of NATO's military training to simulate possible conflict Russia-Ukraine, the country's Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Friday
MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2022) Spanish authorities have decided to send six Eurofighter jets and nearly 100 military personnel to Bulgaria in February as part of NATO's military training to simulate possible conflict Russia-Ukraine, the country's Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Friday.
"The mission aims to protect the airspace of the NATO allies in a situation of constant presence of Russian aircraft," Robles said, as quoted by Radio Bulgaria.
Deployment is expected to take 6-8 weeks.
Last year six Eurofighter jets and 130 military personnel participated in NATO's Enhanced Air Policing mission at Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu military base. NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, US General Tod Wolters, suggests that two military contingents with up to 1,500 soldiers should be formed in Bulgaria and Romania as part of the alliance's enhanced Forward Presence program, while Russia demands the withdrawal of NATO forces, equipment and weapons from Bulgaria and Romania in order to return to the configuration of 1997 as part of Russia's proposals on security guarantees.
