Bulgarian special forces team up with Royal Marines on biggest UK deployment in a decade

Bulgaria's elite troops – members of the country's special forces – have been training with Royal Marines as part of their biggest UK deployment in a decade.

Tasked with irregular and clandestine warfare and experts in close-quarter combat, they have been working with troops from 45 Commando – learning to operate together and sharing their expertise.

The units have previously been together on exercise in Bulgaria on Trojan Footprint but now the Bulgarian troops have travelled to Scotland to continue their working relationship with the Royal Marines of 45 Commando.

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This visit was designed to help both sides learn from each other and operate together, sharing knowledge and passing on best practices so they can be effective when on a mission.

For the marines, it is about gaining an insight into how these elite soldiers operate in built-up areas, while the Bulgarians have been learning how the commandos conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Communication is key to this training, so not wearing helmets has aided a greater level of understanding and helped to overcome any language barrier between the two forces to strengthen the interoperability between Nato allies.

The events in Ukraine over the last 13 months have illustrated what an uncertain world it is, says Major Jonathan Felton, Officer Commanding, Zulu Company 45 Commando.

"What really is key is being able to operate alongside each other, understand each other's skills and drills, in order to really enable that smooth transition in times of crisis," he said.