Hungary started the biggest armament for Hungarian Defence Forces – Photos & Video
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Eight cargo aeroplanes, thirty-six helicopters, forty-four modern combat cars and twenty-four mobile cannons are the newest equipment of the Hungarian Defence Forces which refresh their outdated and almost twenty-five years old technology which was used for fifty years.
Index reported that in 2020, the most modern Leopard 2 combats will arrive for the Defence Forces. With these new vehicles, Hungary will be the only country in the region with the most modern ones. The project – named after Miklós Zrínyi – which develops the Defence Forces’ installations costs approximately 3,500 billion HUF (11 million EUR).
In the middle of the 2000s, the Hungarian Defence Forces only had fifty old T-72 combats, and half of them could not be used. Although the military bought several new equipment and vehicles, it did not satisfy the needs of the Defence Forces.
Some Hungarian soldiers on military missions in Afghanistan and the Balcanic region even had to buy their own equipment from their money.
It was also a difficult task for the military to build the fence on the southern border of Hungary. This time, PM Orbán emphasised several times that the missing equipment would soon be replaced and new ones would be bought. The prime minister added that these developments are urgent because of the growing problem of migration and terrorism in Europe and in the continent.
[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/border-protection-base-hungarian-defence-forces-completed-serbian-hungarian-border/” type=”big” color=”purple” newwindow=”yes”] Border protection base of Hungarian Defence Forces completed[/button]
The decision about the Zrínyi project was born in 2016, and it is eager to find the solution for making up for the twenty-five years of outdating.
Hungary has neglected its military for 30 years. Consequently the Hungarian armed forces are one of the weakest in Europe and NATO. With authorized manpower of 29,700 (actual manpower about 26,500) the Hungarian military is totally incapable of defending the Country. This military is so small and weak that it cannot even hold off an aggressor for 48-72 hours for NATO help to arrive. A significant number of the current personnel are old, out of shape males. The percentage (19%) of female troops is one of the highest of any military in the world. To make matters worse, there are no real well trained, well equipped reserves. Actual number of personnel available for direct ground combat is only about 6,000-8,000 and about 10%-15% of these are out of the Country in NATO peace keeping missions. There is an almost complete lack of modern armor. Currently Hungary only has about 30 old T-72 tanks on active service with another 50 in storage. Much smaller and less wealthy countries (Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, etc.,) have hundreds more tanks than Hungary. Most of their other weapons and equipment date back to the old Warsaw Pact and they are so old that these weapons and equipment cannot even be sold. The Air Force only has 11-12 modern fixed wing combat planes and it is completely stretched to provide air defense for the Country while at the same time providing same to the Baltic States and Slovenia. Recent purchases of transport aircraft, helicopters, tanks and self propelled artillery are just a tiny step in the right direction and much of this new equipment will not be available until 2020-2024. A military is like an insurance policy. One never knows when it will be needed but when the need will arise for Hungary they will regret the fact that they have failed to adequately spend on their national defense.