Bulgarian T-72M upgrade makes headway
Prototype upgraded T-72M for the Bulgarian Land Forces. (Photo: Alexander Mladenov)
While much attention from the defence industry has focused on the Eurosatory 2022 exhibition in Paris, the smaller Hemus event in Bulgaria delivered its share of news earlier this month.
A prototype upgraded T-72M MBT for the Bulgarian Land Forces was unveiled in early June at the Hemus defence exhibition in Plovdiv.
Prototypes are still undergoing rigorous in-country tests and evaluation by the Bulgarian MoD before it approves the production phase of the programme.
A BGN69 million ($36.7 million) contract to upgrade 44 T-72Ms — in addition to three 9S743 command vehicles using the MT-LBu tracked chassis — was awarded to the local MRO company TEREM-Holding in December 2020.
Israeli company Elbit Systems is acting as a subcontractor for the delivery of upgrade kits and the completion of the integration work
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