From 7 to 12 September, NATO’s civilian-led emergency management exercise “BULGARIA 2025” took place in Montana, Bulgaria, co-organised by the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, NATO stated.
The exercise was officially opened by NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska and Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov. According to NATO, more than 1,000 participants from 28 Allies, 18 partner countries and 14 civilian and military organisations joined the training to strengthen their ability to respond to crises.
NATO described BULGARIA 2025 as one of the largest and most complex civil emergency exercises in the world this year.
Participants included soldiers, scientists and first responders, who worked together across 21 sites to rehearse responses to natural disasters, technological incidents and acts of terrorism. Around 100 emergency vehicles, including ambulances, rescue boats, medical helicopters and hyperbaric chamber trucks, were deployed. In the scenarios, 140 simulated victims were rescued.
Alongside the field activity, a strategic component in Sofia brought together decision-makers to focus on civil-military coordination, information threats, whole-of-government crisis management approaches, and the impact of disruptive technologies on preparedness and response.
According to NATO, the exercise strengthened cooperation between civilian and military actors, supported partners’ defence capacity-building and improved Bulgaria’s ability to coordinate international crisis response operations as a host nation.
The Alliance added that the exercise also demonstrated how NATO partnerships can provide concrete benefits to national and collective security.
