Bulgaria, a NATO member state, approved on Wednesday the purchase of seven radar systems manufactured by French company Thales, to modernise its air defence and meet its commitments to the North Atlantic Alliance, Reuters reported, citing local media, Agerpres writes.

The radar equipment to be bought from Thales is capable of detecting missiles from a long distance.

Bulgaria will receive €195 million from the SAFE defence investment fund (Security Action for Europe) for radars and related equipment.

The country wants to fulfil its commitment to NATO and increase its defence spending to 5% of its gross domestic product.

SAFE is a new financial instrument of the European Union, designed to provide financial support to member states to accelerate defence readiness, allowing urgent and major investments in support of the European defence industry. SAFE provides member states that request financial assistance for investments in defence capabilities with competitively priced, long-maturity loans worth up to €150 billion. To maximise the impact and reduce fragmentation, projects are based on joint procurement, involving at least one SAFE beneficiary member state and another member state, as well as Ukraine and the member countries of the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association (EEA-EFTA).