Hungary considers acquiring HIMARS missile systems

Though it has not been confirmed yet, according to Hungarian press information, Hungary considers the acquisition of HIMARS missile systems.

Multiple sources close to the Hungarian Ministry of Defence told Szabad Európa that there is a discussion about Hungary acquiring US-built HIMARS missile systems. The site has learned that this is not the first time that the purchase of missile systems has been considered. The case of a possible acquisition has allegedly been raised for years.

What could the army use them for?

The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) has the advantage to change position quickly, so it can move on right after the deployment. This makes the system less easy to be targeted and destroyed by the enemy.

The Hungarian defence forces do not currently have any such system. According to a source Szabad Európa contacted with,

fortunately, the assumption is completely unrealistic, but imagine an opponent army approaching the Hungarian border. HIMARS could be used to shoot out a bridge they want to cross up to eighty to one hundred kilometres away from the border […]. That is, HIMARS is very effective in support of any defensive operation.

In fact, the United States is supplying the Ukrainian army with exactly this type of missile system. The Ukrainian army seems to be making use of these missile launchers. Without them, as one informant said, they would not have been able to recapture Herson.

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Almost every country in the region has HIMARS

This acquisition would not be unusual, since almost every country in the region already has HIMARS missile systems or is planning to acquire them. As Szabad Európa reports,

among the NATO member states in the region, only Slovakia, Croatia and Hungary have not yet purchased the US missile systems.

When asked how much the Hungarian state would get, one informant said it would probably need about half as much as Romania. According to the portal, Romania is planning to buy 54 missile systems. This means that Hungary would need about 27 of them.

The portal emphasises that none of their information is official at the moment. They tried to contact the Ministry of Defence regarding the issue, but so far no response has been received.

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Source: Szabad Európa