Teledyne FLIR Defense has announced a significant U.S. Army contract worth up to $32 million to deliver and integrate a state-of-the-art Recon Surveillance Kit (RSK) for Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICVs) being provided to Bulgaria under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The award, issued by the U.S. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, represents a pivotal moment in Bulgaria’s long-anticipated transition from Soviet-era armored platforms to NATO-interoperable ground forces. Bulgarian authorities are expected to begin receiving the first Stryker vehicles in February 2026.
In its announcement, Teledyne FLIR Defense framed the initiative as a near-term leap in battlefield capability for a key NATO ally. The company emphasized that the integration of the Recon Kit would enhance situational awareness, accelerate threat detection, and ensure tighter interoperability with allied formations—critical factors as Bulgaria adopts a more networked, sensor-driven approach to modern ground combat.
The Recon Kit is designed to transform standard Stryker ICVs into highly capable reconnaissance platforms capable of detecting, tracking, and sharing targets faster than dismounted scouts or legacy systems alone. According to Teledyne FLIR Defense, the kit comprises three core elements: the TacFLIR 280 HDEP electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) imaging system, the Ranger R20SS long-range radar, and the Cameleon command-and-control software suite that fuses detection and tracking data into a single, operator-friendly workflow.
This architecture provides 360-degree situational awareness, long-range threat detection, and operational performance in both day and night conditions, including adverse weather. For Bulgarian crews entering acceptance trials and training cycles, the operational logic is straightforward but decisive: extend detection range, reduce the time to classification, and disseminate a clear target picture across the formation before encounters escalate into close combat.
The first transformative component, the Ranger R20SS, is an X-band frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar designed for ground and coastal surveillance. Its capabilities include detecting and tracking personnel, vehicles, and watercraft at distances up to 60 kilometers, depending on target type and environmental conditions. The system’s digital beam-forming architecture allows continuous sector scanning while maintaining track-while-scan functionality, enabling operators to cue EO/IR sensors automatically.
For reconnaissance elements, this capability is crucial. By providing early detection cues, the R20SS allows Stryker crews to maintain operational stealth, reduce search times, and minimize the risk of missing fleeting or fast-moving targets. The radar’s high refresh rate and capacity to maintain multiple simultaneous tracks ensure that a reconnaissance screen can monitor several avenues of approach while prioritizing the most threatening elements—a capability increasingly vital for NATO-aligned forces operating near contested or high-risk borders.
Complementing the radar is the TacFLIR 280 HDEP, a stabilized EO/IR system that provides high-fidelity identification, tracking, and targeting at medium ranges. The system’s stabilization enables precision operation from moving platforms, while its optical and infrared sensors deliver detailed imagery under diverse terrain and weather conditions. In configured setups, the 280 HDEP supports advanced features such as laser rangefinding and target coordinate generation, which are critical for precise target handoff to artillery, maneuver elements, or higher-echelon surveillance assets.
Operationally, the TacFLIR 280 HDEP closes the sensor loop: radar detects and tracks, the EO/IR turret confirms and classifies, and operators can sustain a track long enough to generate actionable target information. This integration ensures that reconnaissance crews can make informed decisions quickly, reducing the risk of exposure while maintaining combat effectiveness.
The third component, Cameleon, provides the unifying control layer that integrates radar and EO/IR sensors into a cohesive operational system. Cameleon enables operators to manage multiple sensors through a single interface, offering radar-to-camera slew-to-cue functionality, map-based situational awareness, and rapid transitions between detection, tracking, and monitoring tasks.
For Bulgarian Stryker formations, this system ensures that reconnaissance operations are repeatable, disciplined, and compatible with NATO operational standards. By reducing operator cognitive load, filtering non-critical detections, and facilitating seamless handoffs to other vehicles, command posts, or allied units, Cameleon transforms the Recon Kit from a collection of subsystems into an integrated combat tool. It also standardizes tactics and training, allowing crews to operate effectively under pressure rather than improvising solutions during engagements.
The timing of the contract is strategically significant. The first Stryker vehicles are expected to arrive in Bulgaria in February 2026, with initial deliveries moving through the Terem-Ivaylo military plant in Veliko Tarnovo. Here, vehicle acceptance and integration will anchor modernization efforts within Bulgaria’s defense-industrial base. Teledyne FLIR Defense plans to manufacture the Recon Kit components across its U.S. and Canadian facilities and integrate them locally after vehicle delivery.
This approach ensures a smooth transition from delivery to operational readiness. Sensors, software, and vehicle procedures can be validated in-country alongside Bulgarian acceptance milestones, reducing the risk of a capability gap and ensuring that Strykers are ready for training exercises and operational deployments. The integration also underscores a broader operational concept: Strykers are not just protected mobility platforms; they are networked combat systems where sensor fusion, communications, and rapid target dissemination are central to combat effectiveness.
Teledyne FLIR Defense emphasized that the current Recon Kit is an initial step in Bulgaria’s modernization trajectory. Later phases are expected to incorporate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and specialized nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) sensors. These future enhancements would create a layered reconnaissance architecture combining onboard radar and EO/IR detection with off-board aerial observation and hazardous threat identification.
Such capabilities are particularly relevant for NATO ground forces operating near contested borders, where early threat detection, verification, and standoff engagement are essential. By integrating these systems, Bulgarian Stryker formations would gain the ability to detect threats early, confirm their nature quickly, and maintain operational distance while retaining decisive combat capability if engagement becomes unavoidable.
The contract carries a three-year performance period. The true test of capability will emerge once the first Recon Kit-equipped Strykers enter Bulgarian training areas. The operational metric is sensor-to-decision speed: how quickly crews can move from the initial radar detection to positive identification and digital handoff across the formation.
Practical success will hinge on details that may seem mundane but are critical on the battlefield: how reliably the radar cues the turret while on the move, how efficiently operators can confirm and classify threats, and how seamlessly track data can be shared across units. In these elements, the difference between a reconnaissance vehicle and a force multiplier becomes clear—a well-integrated sensor system allows formations to operate as an informed, coherent whole rather than as isolated vehicles with partial situational awareness.
The Stryker acquisition and the integration of advanced reconnaissance kits mark a major shift in Bulgaria’s military posture. By moving away from legacy Soviet-era vehicles toward a NATO-standard armored fleet, Sofia is investing in networked operations, rapid decision-making, and multi-domain threat awareness.
The U.S. Army contract for Teledyne FLIR Defense underscores Washington’s support for Bulgaria as a modernizing NATO ally and reflects broader trends in European defense modernization. For Bulgaria, the Stryker Recon Kit is not simply an upgrade in hardware; it is a foundation for doctrinal change, operational interoperability, and a more resilient, capable ground force capable of contributing effectively to alliance operations.
