US approves sale of Stryker armored vehicles to Bulgaria

The US State Department approved the possible sale of Stryker armored vehicles to Bulgaria for $ 1.5 billion

The US State Department has approved the possible sale of Stryker armored fighting vehicles to Bulgaria worth about $1.5 billion, Reuters reports, citing the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA — responsible for the supply of military equipment and weapons abroad under intergovernmental contracts).

According to the Pentagon, Bulgaria will sell 183 Stryker family vehicles, including armored personnel carriers and medical evacuation vehicles.

The Pentagon agency notified the US Congress about the possible sale on Friday, September 1. Despite the approval of the State Department, the notification did not indicate that the contract was signed or negotiations were completed.

The Pentagon added that the general contractor for the supply of weapons is General Dynamics Corp.

In early August, the Financial Times learned that the United States had concluded agreements with Bulgaria and South Korea on the supply of shells to Ukraine. It was about supplying Kiev with a large number of 155-mm shells used in the M777 howitzer, the newspaper's sources clarified. At the same time, a month earlier, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev refused to provide Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, explaining this by the desire not to weaken the defense capability of the Bulgarian army.