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.
In addition to the Hungarian leadership, from 2024, the Hungarian Defence Forces will contribute with additional forces to Operation Althea including helicopter airlift and bomb disposal capabilities.
24 September is the Feast of St Gerard in the Hungarian Catholic Church. St Gerard’s cult is still very much alive in Hungary: in the Hungarian Defence Forces, he is the patron saint of technical troops, and because of his significant literary activity, he is the patron of Catholic schools and teachers.
A new, temporary exhibition of military history is set to open in August in St Stephen Museum and Monastery in Székesfehérvár. This is all part of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the formation of the modern Hungarian Defence Forces this year.
The Hungarian Defence Forces’ JAS-39 Gripen fighter aircraft and H145M and Mi-24 helicopters will fly over the Ludovika campus on Saturday as part of the Ludovika Festival in Budapest.
Lt General Gábor Böröndi is the ‘right man in the right place at the right time’ to lead the Hungarian Defence Forces from the combat level to the operational level, the Hungarian Defence Minister stressed at the Lt General’s hearing in parliament.
In the CEE region, only Romania and the Czech Republic are ahead of Hungary in terms of the strength of their military. This is a quite notable achievement given that in 2010, the Hungarian Defence Forces were still lagging behind the Serbian, Austrian, and even the Slovak and Croatian armed forces.
The Hungarian Defence Forces have received the first of the famed German artillery units that are wreaking havoc on the Russian troops in Ukraine. State-of-the-art weaponry is essential to both warfare and deterrence.
Hungary’s festive season officially began in Ibrány, where this year’s national Christmas tree—an impressive 23-metre silver fir—was cut and sent on its way to Budapest. The giant tree reached Kossuth Square on Monday, where it will soon become the focal point of the capital’s Advent celebrations.
‘“Within half a year, our bilateral relations gained new momentum, and the unsuccessful, troubled period may be replaced by a new American–Hungarian golden age,” wrote Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on his social media page after meeting Chargé d’Affaires Robert J Palladino of the US Embassy in Budapest, who is leaving the capital upon the expiration of his interim mandate.’