WB Group to transfer technology to Bulgaria's Optix. FONET, TOPAZ and COMP@N radios head for Panagyurishte

The document was signed by Piotr Wojciechowski, president of WB Group, and Petar Cholakov, chairman of the board of directors of Optix, in the presence of Michaela Karadimova, Bulgaria's deputy minister of economy, investment and industry.

A Bulgarian centre for assembly and support

The agreement sets out how the two companies will prepare a technology transfer plan covering production, integration and in-service support of the FONET and TOPAZ systems, together with COMP@N tactical radios, in Bulgaria, with artillery systems as the intended application.

The Optix plant in Panagyurishte is to become Bulgaria's centre for assembly, installation, configuration and after-sales support of systems offered by WB Group. The Bulgarian partner will receive documentation, the necessary equipment and specialist training.

That is the central element of the deal. Technology transfer in this form is not a sale of equipment with a service clause attached, but the building of a domestic capability to assemble and maintain the systems throughout their life cycle.

Signed during a state visit

The signing took place during an official visit to Poland by Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev. The delegation included the defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov and deputy prime minister and minister of economy, investment and industry Aleksandar Pulev, accompanied by representatives of Bulgarian business.

The setting matters, because an agreement between two companies fits into a wider industrial policy. States on NATO's eastern flank have for several years been looking for arrangements that reduce dependence on supplies from outside the region and shorten support chains in a crisis.

What is going to Bulgaria

FONET is a communications platform developed by WB Group for military vehicles. It is in service with the armed forces of dozens of countries and is manufactured in Poland and under licence elsewhere, including in the United States.

TOPAZ is an integrated artillery command and fire control system used by the Polish Armed Forces. It has been integrated with the Krab and K9 self-propelled howitzers, the M120K Rak mortar system and the Langusta and Homar-K rocket launchers, and is also in use in other countries, allied ones among them.

COMP@N is a family of software defined military radios produced in series by Radmor for the Polish Armed Forces and export customers. The radios come in handheld, vehicle and manpack versions, with security provided through TRANSEC, NETSEC and COMSEC mechanisms.

The choice of those three elements is not accidental. Intercom inside the vehicle, tactical radio communications and a fire control system together form the backbone of a modern artillery module, and artillery is precisely the area Bulgaria is modernising.

Two companies, two profiles

WB Group is the largest privately held defence technology group in Poland and one of the larger players in the sector in Europe. Its portfolio covers uncrewed air, land and maritime platforms, communications, command and fire control systems and tactical radios, with exports to dozens of countries.

Optix was founded in 1998 in Panagyurishte and is one of Bulgaria's leading manufacturers of optical, optomechanical and optoelectronic systems for the defence and civil sectors. It specialises among other things in night vision and thermal imaging devices and employs more than 600 people.

The two profiles complement each other. The Bulgarian partner brings optoelectronics expertise and its own production base, the Polish one brings communications and fire control systems with a documented export record.

Exporting technology rather than equipment

For the Polish defence industry this is a model worth noting. A sale of finished equipment ends on delivery, while a technology transfer ties the recipient in for years through documentation, training, component supply and joint product development.

It is also an answer to what states in the region now expect. Procurement decisions increasingly come with a requirement for domestic industrial participation. In that sense the agreement with Optix is not only a contract for WB Group, but entry into a market where buying decisions will be taken throughout the coming decade.