Bulgarian lawmakers approve purchase of U.S. Javelin missiles

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament connected Wednesday approved an $82.7 cardinal acquisition of Javelin anti-tank guided missiles from the United States to modernise the country's service and support its territorial integrity, BTA quality bureau reported.

In September, the U.S. State Department approved the imaginable merchantability of Javelin FGM-148F missiles and related instrumentality to Bulgaria for $114 million.

The acquisition volition supply the missiles indispensable for the Stryker warring vehicles that Bulgaria had agreed to get from the U.S. for $1.5 cardinal successful 2023, lawmakers said.

BTA said 164 deputies voted successful favour of the deal, successful the 240-seat parliament.

Bulgaria, a subordinate of NATO and the European Union, has stepped up efforts to regenerate its obsolete Soviet-era weapons systems with modern ones pursuing Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.

It besides plans to boost arms accumulation arsenic the EU aims to summation defence backing for subordinate states.

(Reporting by Stoyan Nenov, penning by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Gareth Jones)