The CMDR COE participated in the high-profile NATO Concept Development & Experimentation Conference in Verona
Date: (26-11-2025)
Last week, representatives from the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE), Major Ralitsa Bakalova and Professor Mitko Stoykov, participated in the high-profile NATO Concept Development & Experimentation (CD&E) Conference, held in Verona. This landmark event was dedicated to advancing the synergy between concept development and wargaming to support the development of future forces.
This year’s conference featured a dynamic mix of plenary and panel sessions, bringing together NATO experts, national delegates, and members of Centres of Excellence to explore innovative approaches to concept development and wargaming, and to discuss practical methods for enhancing future operational readiness. Attendees benefited from engaging speakers, focused discussions, and valuable networking opportunities aimed at accelerating concept innovation in defence domains.
CMDR COE actively contributed to plenary sessions, panel discussions, and specialised working groups, sharing expertise on Red Team methodologies, adversarial simulations, and the integration of wargaming insights into operational planning.
Our experts’ involvement reflects Bulgaria’s growing recognition as a hub for knowledge distribution within NATO and highlights our commitment, as a Centre of Excellence, to fostering defence collaboration and enhancing security in the Trans-Atlantic region.
The conference provided a practical, forward-looking foundation for NATO’s transformation agenda. By combining concept development with wargaming, the Alliance is now positioned to adapt more quickly and effectively to evolving security challenges.
News
CMDR COE FEBRUARY Forthcoming events- In 3-7 of February experts from the CMDR COE team will take part in the Final Planning Conference of the SABER GUARDIAN ′14 Exercise, organized by the US EUCOM and BGR LANDFORCE.
The purpose of the exercise is to train and educate civilian and military participants in planning and conducting an UN mandated Chapter VII Peace Operation/Crisis Response Operation, based on a Comprehensive Approach, and focusing on co-operation and co-ordination within an unstable environment, involving all stakeholders. The principal exercise focus is the civilian-military cooperation and coordination. The scenario supports exercising a wide range of peace operations functions (e.g. rule of law, humanitarian, etc.). The CMDR COE will contribute to achieving the exercise objectives by providing subject matter expert support in the CMDR area and by organizing distributed point for White cell.
- In 11-13 February 2014 the Civil-Military Interaction: Disaster Preparedness and Response Workshop will take place in Sofia. The workshop is sponsored by the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria and the CMDR COE. The workshop comprises lectures dedicated to NATO and EU Crisis Management, role of military in civil security, risk management, as well as discussions and tabletop exercise.
Internal CMDR COE Seminar on the Crisis in SyriaThe CMDR COE organised an internal seminar which was held on 20.12.2013. The main focus of the seminar was the crisis in Syria. The CMDR COE experts discussed issued related to the chronology of the crisis; the increased influx of refugees to neighbouring countries and Bulgaria; the positions of NATO, the UN and EU; the involvement of international humanitarian organisations etc.
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Visualizing Implications of Climate Change on Military Activities and Relationships was conductedOn 11-12 December 2013, the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) co-hosted together with US European Command (USEUCOM) and the US embassy in Bulgaria the workshop Visualizing Implications of Climate Change on Military Activities and Relationships. The opening remarks were given by the Deputy Minister of Defence of Bulgaria, Mr. Ivan Ivanov, who welcomed the participants and underlined the importance of the topics that the workshop focused on.
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