In Bulgarian military news, the Bulgarian Air Force (VNVV) began purchasing the DAR-16 Orel, which is a license-built copy of the Yugoslavian Soko Orao fighter aircraft. Forty-eight aircraft were manufactured in 1943. The VNVV has not ordered any fighter aircraft since the last Spitfires were delivered from Britain in 1941. A further order for sixty aircraft is on order for 1944, with a projected delivery date of six per month. Some consideration is being given to ordering a small number of Supermarine Spitefuls as dedicated interceptors.
1943 also saw the introduction of radiolokator equipment into the Bulgarian Royal Navy. The naval yards at Varna and Rousse refitted radar onto the four Gordi-class lek razrushitel, the four Kyustendil-class kontrarazrushitel, and the two Danube-class krajseri. The radar is of French export make, of the same kind sold to Romania and other regional powers. In addition to the refits, the shipyards laid down two fleet tenders of the Stara Planina class and three netlayers of the Tropanka class. Designs were additionally prepared for the new Neustrashimi-class destroyers: two ships will be built in 1944 and two more in 1945. The Bulgarian Navy continues looking for a suitable buyer for its battleship Sofia II, but discussions with Turkey, Greece, Brazil, and Chile have not resulted in any offers.
The Bulgarian Army began participating in a development project with the allied Polish government, which is designing a new tank for delivery sometime in 1944. The Bulgarian land forces are interested in updating their armoured vehicle fleet between 1944 and 1946, with purchases to focus on two classes: a light tank in the 10-20 tons category (suitable to replacing the 25mm-armed Atlantean AT-34) and a medium tank in the 20-40 ton category. Foreign offers will be evaluated until a suitable type is found. The Polish-developed medium tank will probably be ordered to fill the medium tank category in mid to late 1944, although foreign offers will still be evaluated if proposed.
Tsar Boris III suffered a major heart-attack on August 28th, shortly after returning from a dinner at the Italian embassy in Sofia. The king's physicians treated him within minutes and he was quickly moved to the Sofia hospital. His condition remained critical for over four weeks before he showed signs of recovery. The Tsar's long illness resulted in Prince Kyril Saxe-Koburg-Gotha, the king's brother, being appointed as temporary regent of Bulgaria. Tsar Boris's recovery has been slow, but he attended public functions shortly before Christmas. A number of conspiracy theories have sprung up in the aftermath of his heart-attack, as one of his attending physicians, Austrian Hans Eppinger, declared that the Tsar had been poisoned. Other leading medical authorities disagreed with Eppinger and the Bulgarian government has not taken any position on the matter.
The Belitsa-Bansko section of the Septembvri-Dobrinishte narrow gauge railway (760mm gauge) was opened for travel on March 3rd, 1943, after many years of work. One final section remains before completion. The final section to Dobrinishte is expected to open in 1945.
French auto manufacturer Renault signed an agreement with the Bulgarian firm of Metalhin to build a factory to produce trucks and automobiles under the brand-name "Bulgarrenault". The new factory, located in Plovdiv, will be constructed between February 1944 and August 1945. In the intermediate period, temporary factory space in Plovdiv has been acquired, and manufacturing equipment will permit low-scale production and training of workers to begin in mid-1944.
In other automotive news, the Bulgarian government has continued investing in the construction of the Warsaw Pact's Autostrada system through Bulgaria. In October 1943, construction finished on the A1 Autostrada, which runs from the Bulgarian border with Yugoslavia near Tsaribrod to the Byzantine border at Kapitan Andreevo. When completed, the A1 Autostrada will permit rapid auto transit between Prague and Istanbul, and will eventually connect to the German autobahn network. Construction on the A3 Autostrada has started in earnest, with the road running up the eastern Greek coast from Athens to Edirne, then through the Bulgarian towns of Burgas, Varna, and Dobrich to the Romanian city of Constanta. Once the A3 reaches Burgas, construction crews will split in order to begin work on the A2, running toward Rousse and the border with Romania, where it will then head to Bucharest. The Bulgarian government has already noted increased economic development in the regions close to the A1 Autostrada, particularly notable in small and mid-sized businesses, which depend on truck traffic to deliver goods.