SOFIA, Sept 24 (AFP) - Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia agreed Friday to set up a common air defence network, Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov announced here after a trilateral meeting here.
"Our aim is to create a joint air defence system, and we agreed on the start of it today," he told a press conference.
An expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it would mean Bulgaria, which is a member of NATO, effectively extending its current system across the airspace of its two neighbours.
Sofia will support the efforts of Albania and Macedonia to join the western defence alliance and in military and technical spheres, Svinarov said.
Bulgaria is currently upgrading its present air defence system with US aid, and is also due to modernise its fleet of 20 MiG-29 warplanes and 36 Mi-17 and Mi24 helicopters.
The Bulgarian defence ministry Thursday signed memorandums of understanding with Britain's BAe Systems and the British-Swedish firm Grippen to upgrade air defence technology.