Hungary buys high-tech Norwegian missile system
A 21st-century high-tech Norwegian missile system, NASAMS, Hungary is getting from Kongsberg, Norway’s premier supplier of defence and aerospace-related systems, will reinforce the country’s air defence from this year, Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in Kongsberg.
Maximising air defence systems is of “priority importance” for any country’s defence capabilities, the defence ministry quoted Szalay-Bobrovniczky as saying in a statement. The NASAMS system is expected to be inaugurated in Hungary in August, the ministry said.
Hungary signed the contract on the NASAMS system in November 2020. In March 2021, the country signed a financing agreement with Export Credit Norway (ECN) and the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency (GIEK) that will cover 85 percent of the 410 million euros cost of the NASAMS. The NASAMS, used widely among NATO members, will replace Hungary’s more than 40-year-old Soviet missile system, MTI wrote.
The deleagtion’s arrival in Norway:
Defence minister holds talks with Norwegian counterpart in Oslo
Norway makes a major contribution to Hungary’s air defences, a vital part of the country’s defence capabilities, Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said after talks with Norwegian counterpart Bjorn Arild Gram in Oslo on Thursday. “When there is a war going on, it is particularly important to strengthen our cooperation with our partners and allies,” the ministry quoted Szalay-Bobrovniczky as saying in a statement. The focus of their talks was the creation of Hungary’s air defence system, to which Norway is providing its medium-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). Its delivery and the training for the personnel operating it is going according to schedule, the minister said, adding future cooperation on the project was hopeful.
NASAMS Academy in Kongsberg:
The two ministers discussed the war in Ukraine and the responses given. Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that Hungary’s position varied from the mainstream given the country’s proximity to the war and the large number of ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine. He said Hungary supported peace and would protect Hungarian people on both sides of the border. “We have condemned the war from the start and support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the minister told his partner.
At talks with members of the Norwegian parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Szalay-Bobrovniczky stated Hungary commitment to NATO as an ally. The Hungarian defence minister also had talks with other representatives of the Norwegian government as well as those of the parliament, the ministry said.
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