R&D activities seek to facilitate the reinforcement of the status of Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy as a centre for naval science and marine technology.
The main R&D areas of the Academy are:

–          naval armament and equipment;
–          navigation;
–          marine technology;
–          maritime education and qualification for personnel for the Navy and the marine industry

R&D activities are directed at forward-looking and applied science research.
The Naval Academy performs theoretical studies, develops concepts and forecasts, reviews and analyses in the sphere of naval armament and equipment, marine science and technology.
It also conducts theoretical and engineering research in the sphere of the development of the armaments system in the Bulgarian Navy and the Bulgarian Armed Forces, safety of navigation, effectiveness and reliability of maritime equipment.
Furthermore, it works on projects from the R&D Plan of the Ministry of Defence, for the needs of water transport and marine industry, as well as the Academy’s own plan.
The Academy conducts joint activities and cooperates with institutes and operating entities on a local, national and international level.
It has cooperation agreements with the Institute of Hydro- and Aerodynamics, the Institute of Oceanology, manufacturers from the military-industrial complex of the republic of Bulgaria, etc.
The Academy participates in the establishment of scientific associations and the formation of forward-looking research programmes, such as the High-Tech Business Incubator – Varna, the National Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, etc.
Up-to-date information about our ongoing research projects can be found on our specialised site for Research Projects.

Internal projects currently in progress at the Naval Academy:

• Project OS-348: Report on the publication activities of the professors and lecturers at Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy for 2018.
• Project OS-349: Optimising the dynamic website of Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy as exploration, education and publication tool.
• Project OS-39: Capacity increment of the welding laboratory аt Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy
• Project OS-40: Purchasing of new equipment to upgrade the existing precision measurument laboratory at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy