The lone Bulgarian submarine "Slava" will be retired in September, Defense Minister Anyu Angelov said Friday, Xinhua reported.
The ongoing military structure review will be completed in September and some changes in the Bulgarian Army's structure will be announced later, Angelov said. Probably there will be no underwater warship in the Bulgarian Navy in the future, he said.
"Slava" (Glory), a 54-man, Soviet-made diesel-electric submarine built in the 1950s, belongs to the Romeo class (Project 633).
Its retirement will mark the end of the Bulgarian submarine fleet established in 1916. The high point of the fleet was from 1983 to 1985 when four submarines were in operation.
Three Wielingen class frigates, built for the Belgian Navy in the 1970s and sold to Bulgaria between 2004 and 2008, form the backbone of the fleet that guards Bulgaria's 378 km Black Sea maritime boundary.
The Bulgarian Navy also has one Koni class frigate, three corvettes, one minehunter, four minesweepers, several small missile boats and naval helicopters in commission.
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