New Equipment for New Capabilities

At the end of last year, Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó announced that the Hungarian Defence Forces are going to take over two light helicopters from the National Ambulance Service. Conversion courses have already started for the pilots and ground crews, and the AS–350B helicopters will be employed as trainer, reconnaissance and liaison aircraft.

Besides military technology development, an US–Hungarian military agreement was signed at a ceremony attended by Chief of Defence Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő and Deputy Chief of Defence Lt.-Gen. Dr. Zoltán Orosz. Speaking at the event, Lt.-Gen. Orosz said that due to the new types of security threats emerging in the world, ten years before a decision had been made to generate a special operations capability of the Hungarian Defence Forces that enables flexible and effective response to unexpected incidents and contingencies requiring unconventional tactics. From the very beginning, the United States military has been supporting Hungary’s efforts by supplying military equipment and providing training opportunities. Under the above-mentioned decision, the capabilities of the Hungarian Special Forces will be further developed in the coming years, and the USA will continue to give Hungary every assistance to it. The current agreement on cooperation is a tangible form of this support.

Speaking about the cooperation in the partnership development program, Mr. Simicskó emphasized the importance of enhanced defence capabilities. “Our most important goal is to guarantee the security of the people and borders of Hungary. To attain this goal, we are continuously developing the Hungarian Defence Forces", the Minister of Defence said, adding that the Hungarian armed forces wouldn’t have come this far without receiving support from the American ally in terms of funding, equipment and training. “We are facing new types of dangers and threats. These items of military equipment also help the Hungarian Defence Forces in performing their changed duties. Due to the threat of terrorism, the Hungarian soldiers have to be able to guarantee the citizens’ security, and the special operations capability is of key importance in combating terrorism. The minister concluded his speech by saying “we hope that the Special Forces will never be required to deploy to fight terrorists in Hungary, but it is better if we stand prepared."

Turning to the future, Minister Simicskó emphasized that the development will continue, and the ministry would like to increase the defence budget by 0.1 per cent of the GDP each year until 2016.

Photo: Veronika Dévényi