The objective of the exercise is to test the military’s readiness for and response to an imagined situation threatening Hungary’s security. Another goal is to test the capabilities of the civilian public administration when it comes to troop movements and logistics, the Hungarian Defence Minister noted.
Turkey is an extremely important regional player in terms of security policy, and its voice is indispensable in international conflicts that risk the security of all of us, the Hungarian defence minister said after meeting his Turkish counterpart in Budapest.
In the mid-2010s, the Hungarian defence industry was declared a key national economic area with the goal of providing Hungarian-made state-of-the-art defence equipment to the renewed Hungarian armed forces and make Hungary an arms exporter. Since then several major international companies have announced plans to bring their manufacturing and development capacity to the country.
Speaking at a conference on defence industry supplier development held at the Bálna Defence Centre, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky pointed out that in pursuit of advancing the defence industry, strategic agreements have been concluded with several major international players, including German, Norwegian, French and Turkish companies.
The equipping of the Gidrán combat vehicle already started in Hungary years ago, but from now on, the vehicle itself will be manufactured in the country.
In order to achieve the objectives set by the Chief of General Staff, including mental renewal and combat readiness, the Hungarian Defence Forces will hold a broader spectrum exercise, where the HDF will not only carry out military manoeuvres in eight locations across the country, but the cooperation between the Hungarian Defence Forces and the civil administration will also be assessed.
During the nominee’s parliamentary committee hearing, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated that the leadership of the armed forces has been significantly and fundamentally renewed over the past one and a half to two years; practically the entire leadership of the HDF has changed, and all unit commanders are excellent young officers.
At the handover ceremony, Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky highlighted that the greatest strength of the system, also used in 12 other countries, is its ability to establish a network based on control stations. It operates with excellent US-made AMRAAM missiles widely used in NATO member states and also installed on HDF Gripen fighter aircraft.
The government resolution to continue the development at Hungary’s most famous racing track, Hungaroring has been adopted. The next phase of the upgrade will bring the quality of the Mogyoród track to the expected level of Formula 1.
Speaking in the National Assemblyabout the possibility of a military mission being launched, Hungarian Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky explained that such a mission would only take place at the invitation of the Chadian president, and within this framework, a maximum of 200 soldiers would serve from the spring of 2024.