Load Diffuser 2017 – The Largest Air Force Exercise in Hungary

After the inspection, Gen. Wolters pointed out that he was grateful to the Hungarian Defence Forces for the effort they made to ensure that the exercise is going safely and smoothly. He added that the most important aspect of the exercise is the interoperability among the participating nations and the harmonization and common understanding of their procedures. As Gen. Wolters said, they witnessed a fantastic cooperation, and everything was going on according to plans.

Lt.-Col. Gregory Barasch, the commander of the fighter squadron of the Ohio Air National Guard told us that they brief every morning together, fly and train on multiple different missions together, come back and debrief and they all walk away with some lessons learned. As he noted, it has turned out that the fighter jets are very compatible, fly similarly, and even some of their avionics is very similar. 

Initially, the cooperation that has been going on since 1993, involved only Hungarian and US air force units, but over the years Czech, Croatian, Slovak and Slovenian units also joined the exercise. During the largest air force exercise in Hungary, the aircraft fly imitated tactical air-to-air and air-to-ground missions to eliminate targets, with the primary goal of enabling the participants to learn joint task execution while learning about the characteristics of various aircraft.

The VIP day of the exercise was also attended by Deputy Chief of Defence Dr. Zoltán Orosz. In answer to a question, he told us that “we are proud every time we can host a coalition exercise of our allies, because it means that we are well-prepared and ready to receive the allied forces. Among others, these coalition exercises serve the aim of practicing and improving common tactical procedures and of providing a kind of host nation support and readiness".

Chargé d’Affaires for the US Embassy in Hungary David Kostelancik said that “Exercise Load Diffuser is emblematic of what it takes to have a functional and effective defense alliance." He commended the members of the Hungarian Air Force for their leadership in hosting this exercise and for their hospitality.

After the ceremony – during which several participants of the exercise were recognized with coins for their excellent performance – the invited guests, including the military attachés accredited to Budapest, were given opportunity to take a closer look at the US F-16 and Hungarian JAS 39 Gripen fighters.

Photo: Veronika Dévényi