Hungarian armed forces to include 30,000 soldiers by 2026
Bácsszentgyörgy, 2017. december 14. Simicskó István honvédelmi miniszter (k) a magyar-szerb határon szolgálatot teljesítõ katonákkal beszélget Bácsszentgyörgy közelében 2017. december 14-én. Mellette Zsigó Róbert, a Földmûvelésügyi Minisztérium élelmiszerlánc-felügyeletért felelõs államtitkára (b) és Németh Szilárd, az Országgyûlés honvédelmi és rendészeti bizottságának fideszes elnöke (j). MTI Fotó: Ujvári Sándor
Hungary aims to boost the armed forces to ensure that 30,000 soldiers are on active duty by 2026, Defence Minister István Simicskó said on Thursday at the transfer ceremony of the commander post of the Hungarian Joint Force Command.
The commander post was transferred from János Huszár to Ferenc Korom. Huszar will be the deputy chief of staff.
Simicskó said the plan also involves a reserve force of 20,000 by 2026 and setting up voluntary regional defence units. Currently the number of reserve soldiers comes to around 6,000, he said, adding that this was a major improvement on the handful of reserves in 2010.
Budget resources will be available for the large increase in staff, and the defence budget will reach 2 percent of GDP, or 1,000 billion forints (EUR 3.2bn), by 2024.
The defence and armed forces development scheme dubbed Zrínyi 2026 and the increased budget will enable the acquisition of state-of-the-art technologies to ensure that the army maintains 21st century capabilities.
Korom said his priorities in his new post will be to represent national interests, meet the requirements of membership in allied systems and promote team work.
Featured image: MTI
Source: MTI
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6 Comments
An armed force of only 30,000 men is insufficient to deter or to defeat aggression. Hungarian armed forces are in sad shape. Current authorized manpower is 29,700 but the actual number is several thousand less. There are no real reserves. There are too many old, out of shape men in the armed forces and the percentage of females (17%+) is one of the highest in the world. Currently there are only 15-30 old T-72 tanks in active service with another 50 in storage. Romania has over 800. Even small countries like Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria have more. There are probably more armored fighting vehicles than the current armed forces can handle. The problem is that most of them are over 30 years old. There are no self propelled artillery. The Hungarian Air force has only 11 modern combat planes. There are no modern attack helicopters. Transport helicopters, as most of the other equipment of the armed forces, dates back to the Warsaw pact and are so old they can’t even be sold. Depending on alliances with foreign countries for national security is a recipe for disaster. Hungary refuses to spend adequately for its national security and the time will come when they will regret it.
Hungary should bring in 1 year military training. Everyone should get a crack at homeland defense. No getting out of service with some doctored up medical notes like they did under the communists. The military should have more updated machinery which may instill a sense of pride. A large reserve force should also be constructed. 6000 members amounts to zilch! At best, look to Isreal for inspiration.
They should look to Israel for guidance or just go nuclear. No one is going to back Hungary, so like Israel, they’ll have to look inward and commit to themselves. All or nothing!
Isreal’s example was set up for ‘existence’. The way they are taking their land back with annihilation as a loss. Nobody is planning to wipe out Hungarians except for maybe the current Romanian Prime Minister’s threats, LOL!. We have the V4 which includes a sea port, much more men, and equipment and best of all “Historical proven friends” which is the most important piece of weapon. The NATO thing is not proven, and is weakening. It’s there, as a eastern deterent for America and Europe. I don’t feel after this i need to send my son or daughter into a 6 month military exercise, as they will learn just as fast if one reason ever reared it’s ugly head.. I have the greatest trust in the V4, and with it’s current membership frozen.
Visegrád Group(V4) – An Alliance of Brothers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKKAmknHQIY
V4 and a sea port mean nothing. Hungary as in the past must be strong enough to be able to stand on her own. Having a proper standing army backed by a large reserve. I never stated that they would have to be aggressors. A better defense allows more room for negotiations. and respect from other countries.