TSAMTO, November 6th. On November 3, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense announced the handover ceremony of the first batch of five new Stryker armored personnel carriers with an 8x8 wheel formula held at the TEREM-Ivaylo enterprise in Veliko Tarnovo.
The event was attended by the country's Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.
As the minister stated during his speech, the project of equipping new Stryker combat vehicles is one of the largest initiatives for the rearmament of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. It provides for the purchase of 198 units of combat and auxiliary equipment, 183 of which belong to the Stryker family. The new equipment will significantly increase the mobility, security and firepower of the Ground Forces, as well as improve unification with NATO allies.
As stated, the purchase will also have a positive impact on the development of the Bulgarian defense industry. Thus, the TEREM-Ivaylo enterprise in Veliko Tarnovo, where the final assembly of equipment is carried out, is planned to be transformed to the level of a regional Stryker platform maintenance center.
As reported by CAMTO, the US State Department approved the potential supply to the Bulgarian government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program of 183 Stryker armored vehicles with an 8x8 wheel formula in September 2023. As stated, the total value of the sale may amount to 1.5 billion dollars. The general contractor for the supply is General Dynamics Land Systems.
The Intergovernmental Agreement (LOA) for the purchase of Stryker armored personnel carriers was signed on November 17, 2023. The value of the BU-B-UCP contract for the purchase of Stryker combat vehicles is $1.208 billion. The contract provides for the purchase of 198 units of equipment under the FMS program, including 183 combat and 15 auxiliary vehicles. The delivery should be completed within 36 months from the date of signing the contract with the US Army, approximately in the first quarter of 2028. The main part of the equipment will enter service during 2026-2027 at the rate of ten vehicles per month.
The project involves industrial cooperation, technology transfer and the creation of facilities for the assembly and repair of Stryker armored personnel carriers on the basis of TEREM Holding EAD in Bulgaria.
As reported, the production of the first Stryker armored personnel carriers for the Bulgarian Armed Forces began at the General Dynamics Land Systems enterprise in London (Ontario, Canada) in August 2025.
The final assembly of the equipment will be carried out at the enterprise of the Bulgarian company TEREM-Ivaylo in Veliko Tarnovo. After the assembly of the BBM at the factory and the necessary tests, the equipment will be adopted by the 61st Mechanized brigade of the Bulgarian Army.
In mid-February 2026, the first 5 Stryker armored personnel carriers assembled by General Dynamics Land Systems were delivered to Bulgaria for final assembly at the Veliko Tarnovo facilities and subsequent transfer to the 61st Mechanized Brigade.
At the same time, as part of the Excess Defense Articles transfer program, 8 Stryker armored personnel carriers were delivered to Bulgaria, provided free of charge by the US authorities for training personnel of the 61st Mechanized Brigade.
