The air forces of Bulgaria, Romania, and Spain have signed a trilateral agreement for air policing operations within NATO.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday the signing of a trilateral technical agreement between the air forces of Bulgaria, Romania, and Spain for conducting cross-border air policing operations within NATO. The agreement is based on a bilateral understanding between Romania and Bulgaria, signed in 2021, which allows fighter aircraft from a third country, in this case Spain, to participate in air policing operations.

The Spanish air forces will carry out air patrol missions in the airspace of Romania and, if necessary, in that of Bulgaria. This cooperation is part of NATO mechanisms aimed at ensuring the security of the airspace on the eastern flank, near Ukraine, and contributes to strengthening coordination in air and missile defense among allies, thus enhancing collective defense capabilities.