NATO wrapped up its largest civil emergency management exercise of the year in Bulgaria on Friday, bringing together more than 1,000 participants from allied and partner countries to test responses to natural disasters, technological accidents and terrorist incidents.
The drill, named BULGARIA 2025, was held from Sept. 7-12 in the northwestern city of Montana and co-organised by NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre and Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska and Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov opened the exercise, which included troops, scientists, first responders and civilian experts from 28 NATO allies, 18 partner states and 14 organisations.
Over 100 emergency vehicles – including medical helicopters, rescue boats and hyperbaric chamber trucks – were deployed across 21 training sites. Organisers said around 140 simulated victims were rescued in different scenarios.
A parallel strategic session in Sofia gathered senior decision-makers to discuss civil-military coordination, disinformation threats, preparedness, and the impact of new technologies on crisis response.
NATO said the exercise underscored the role of partnerships in strengthening resilience, boosting defence capacity-building, and improving cross-border coordination. It also enhanced Bulgaria’s ability to host and lead international crisis response operations.