Defence minister: Hungary military reform on schedule

Hungarian Defense Forces
Budapest, 2018. július 8. Benkõ Tibor honvédelmi miniszter beszédet mond a fõvárosi Hõsök terén tartott altisztavatáson 2018. július 8-án. Az avatáson csaknem háromszáz, a Magyar Honvédség Altiszti Akadémiáján végzett katona tette le ünnepélyes altiszti esküjét. MTI Fotó: Balogh Zoltán

Hungary’s military development scheme dubbed Zrínyi 2026 is on schedule, the defence minister told the Monday edition of daily Magyar Idők.

The Hungarian Armed Forces is capable of implementing the most modern technologies across all ranks of the military, Tibor Benkő told the paper. The defence ministry wants to ensure that the military uses the highest possible proportion of domestically-produced technologies, he said.

The Zrínyi 2026 scheme will modernise the troops’ weaponry, gear, electronic devices and uniforms, the minister noted.

The upgraded weaponry will be assembled at a factory in Kiskunfélegyháza (S Hungary) and manufactured under a Czech licence, he said, adding that plans are also afoot to have the small arms ammunition produced in Hungary.

Benkő also said that although Hungary’s rising employment should not favour the expansion of the military, the number of military applicants has been on the up since 2016.

“We have created and must preserve a career model in defence that will connect with future soldiers and help with retaining them,” Benkő said.

“We cannot compete with the salary arrangements offered by all professions, but we can definitely compete in terms of predictability,” the minister added.

Hungary’s defence force has expanded its number of reservists to 7,500, he said, adding that more and more young people were joining the army in this capacity.

Commenting on the suggestion that certain sources say some in NATO do not see Hungary as a reliable ally, Benkő said: “One can criticise the Hungarian Armed Forces, but in the recent period we’ve had eight generals serve in high-ranking NATO positions that demanded and demand high degrees of responsibility. These positions don’t indicate that we’re bad allies or unreliable.”

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI

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