Table of Content:
Vladimir Mitkov
Summary: This article offers a conceptual reconsideration of national security in the context of an intensifying polycrisis characterized by interconnected health, climate, economic, cyber, and geopolitical risks. The study argues that the classical model of national security, based on territorial defense and military power, is increasingly insufficient for managing complex and nonlinear threats. In response, the article develops the concept of systemic resilience as a framework for adaptation, policy coordination, and effective management of contemporary crises.
Keywords: national security, systemic resilience, polycrisis, strategic adaptation, security governance.
Angelina Markovska
Summary: The paper conceptualizes artificial intelligence as a structural driver of global transformation, wherein control over data and computational infrastructures displaces the classical territorial paradigm of power. Through an analysis of the strategic competition among the United States, China, and Russia, it advances the argument for the emergence of a “digital heartland” and underscores the need to reconceptualize the analytical framework of contemporary geopolitics.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; digital Heartland; geopolitical analysis; technological competition; AI sovereignty
Stefania Mircheska
Summary: Artificial intelligence is reshaping military decision-making by introducing autonomous systems that affect human control, authority, and responsibility. This article examines how autonomy influences leadership and command structures, focusing on the interaction between human judgment and algorithmic systems. It argues that maintaining meaningful human control is essential for ensuring accountability, operational effectiveness, and trust in AI-mediated environments.
Keywords: artificial intelligence; autonomous systems; military leadership; human control; decision-making
Iliya Tsenov
EUROPE AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS AND BULGARIA'S MILITARY SECURITY
Summary: The article examines the problems facing the European Union (EU) in the context of deepening international uncertainty. The emphasis is placed on the turbulent relations between Europe and the United States. Options for optimal solutions and restoration of trust are examined. In the changing global security, the perspectives and opportunities forcoordination are analyzed. Against this background, the main point is put - attention to the security of the EU after decades of "Soft Power".
Keywords: European Union, different speeds, confrontation, challenges, military security
Ognyan Kostadinov
Summary: Military intelligence acquires information and produces analytical assessments through a combination of clandestine practices and scientific and technological progress. Revealing the intentions and capabilities of an adversary serves early warning and decision-making in the interest of security. The main forms of intelligence collection are analyzed: human sources (HUMINT), technical means (SIGINT, IMINT/GEOINT, MASINT), and open sources (OSINT).
Keywords: OSINT, HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT/GEOINT, MASINT
Ani Stefanova
CYBER RESILIENCE OF GEODETIC SYSTEMS AS AN ELEMENT OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Summary: The digital transformation of geodesy integrates GNSS, cloud services, UAVs, and IoT within an interconnected infrastructure. While improving efficiency, this technological dependency increases exposure to cyber risks, including GNSS interference, cloud vulnerabilities, and compromise of geospatial data. The paper presents a systematic analysis of key risk profiles and proposes technological and organizational mechanisms to enhance the cyber resilience of geodetic systems.
Keywords: cyber resilience, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, geodetic systems, GNSS
Teodora Licheva
THE ZERO-TRUST CONCEPT IN SECURITY
Summary: In this report, I analyze the opportunities, challenges, and strategic frameworks for implementing the zero-trust model in security services globally, focusing on leading practices from the US, UK, and Australia, to predict and implement these models in the specific context of Bulgaria. I place particular emphasis on the management processes, organizational culture, and technological prerequisites that accompany this fundamental change in cyber defense.
Keywords: new technologies, national security, cybersecurity
Luiza Raduslav, Cezar Vasilescu
Summary: Emerging military technologies pose fundamental challenges for international humanitarian law. The study examines the hypothesis that these technologies create a significant normative vacuum, as the traditional principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack were designed for conventional conflicts and require substantive reinterpretation. The study results question the adequacy of the existing legal framework.
Keywords: international humanitarian law; lethal autonomous systems; cyber warfare; drones; distinction principle; proportionality; normative vacuum; meaningful human control; Tallinn Manual 2.0.
Stanislav Stanev
STATE SUPPORT FOR NON-STATE ARMED GROUPS AND THE RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE IN THE INTERNATIONAL LAW
Summary: This study examines state support for non-state armed groups in the context of the right of self-defense under international law. It analyzes whether such support can be considered an armed attack under the UN Charter, with a focus on the “effective control” criterion. Through examples such as Iran–Hezbollah and the response after September 11, the study highlights the main legal controversies on the issue.
Keywords: self-defense, non-state groups, international security.
Miroslav Mirchev
THE INTERPRETATION OF TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION
Summary: The report has examined issues related to the requirements for analyzing information obtained by various types of intelligence. It outlines the specific knowledge and skills that analysts must have to interpret intelligence data as accurately as possible.
Keywords: security environment, intelligence, open source intelligence, information analysis, analytical structures.
Boryana Ralcheva, Georgi Semovski
Summary: This paper examines situation awareness within Endsley’s framework as a pivotal leadership driver in TCCC environments. Utilizing survey data, it analyzes the level of situational control at the tactical level. An advanced training course for personnel is proposed to optimize combat first aid.
Keywords: TCCC, situational awareness, first aid, combat environment
Boryana Ralcheva, Maryana Ivanova, Ivan Popivanov
INTERGARION OF WEARABLE SENSORS FOR MONITORING VITAL FUNCTIONS IN MILITARY MEDICINE
Summary: Wearable sensors are a modern technology for continuous monitoring of vital functions, which is gradually finding application in the fields of medicine, security and defense, including military medicine. These devices allow monitoring of key physiological indicators such as heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, etc. in real time, even in remote or field conditions, which increases the safety of personnel and the operational effectiveness of military operations/missions.
Keywords: wearable sensors, vital signs, cardiovascular system, health monitoring, combat environment
Petar Yordanov
Summary: This article examines the current state of combat-applied physical training (CAPT) within the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Bulgarian Army (BA). The regulatory framework, methodological approaches, physical standards, and key challenges facing the contemporary training system for security forces personnel are analyzed.
Keywords: combat-applied physical training, Ministry of Interior, Bulgarian Army, security forces, physical fitness
Radi Radev
Summary: The article explores the historical development of simulator training at the Vasil Levski National Military University which is the direct successor to the first military school in Bulgaria after the Liberation in 1878. The research is based on archival documents from the 1521 fund of the military school from the State Military History Archive. The scientific work presents the main simulator systems that have been created, implemented and applied in the course of training of cadets in the university in the period from its establishment from the last decades of the 20th century to the present days.
Keywords: simulators, training, development, archival documents
Elena Stoyanova
ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SECURITY MEASURES OF AVIATION OPERATORS
Summary: This article analyzes the key factors influencing the effectiveness of the security measures implemented by aviation operators, emphasizing their impact on the overall level of civil aviation protection. The study examines external factors such as economic, political, and geographical conditions, as well as internal factors primarily related to the human element. Conclusions are formulated regarding the need for risk management, organizational culture, staff training, motivation and the development of a sustainable security culture.
Keywords:: aviation security, aviation operator, human factor, insider threat, risk analysis.
Kalin Nedelchev
POLITICAL AND MILITARY RESULTS AFTER JOINING BULGARIA TO THE WARSHAW PACT
Summary: The article analyzes the political and military results, as well as the decision-making mechanisms in national security folowing Bulgaria's accession to the Warsaw Pact. It examines the impact of this pivotal moment over the formation and development of the leadership structures for strategical and political governance. The text explores the foreign and domestic policy effects which the important role of Bulgaria, as the southern flank of the union brings: limited possibilities for independent national foreign policy and strengthening of the regime of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The article also addresses the effects of the ideological influence, related to the Bulgarian membership of the pact: society militarization, long lasting cultural matrix, opposed against the West, etc.
Keywords: Warsaw Pact, security, political results, union, army
Desislava Mitkova
FACTORS OF SOCIAL TENSION AMONG GENERATION Z USING THE EXAMPLE OF BULGARIA
Summary: This study examines the role of Generation Z as a major participant in the civil protests of late 2025 in Bulgaria. Protests led to the resignation of the government and the withdrawal of the country's budget bill. The research interest is focused on studying the factors that generate social tension among Generation Z. It is assumed that economic uncertainty, institutional distrust, and changed values are factors that dominate the social behavior of this generation.
Keywords: generation Z, social tension, governance, values, national security.
Kamelia Petkova
Summary: This article examines digital exclusion as a latent risk to social security in vulnerable urban communities in Bulgaria. Based on quantitative data from a national survey and deep interviews, the study shows that digitalization often reinforces existing social, infrastructural, and institutional inequalities. Limited access to services, low digital literacy, and institutional distance weaken trust, autonomy, and the capacity to manage social and health-related risks.
Keywords: digital exclusion; social security; human security; vulnerable urban communities; institutional trust.