Black Panthers Against Pumas

Exercise Load Diffuser 2010 is being conducted in Hungary between April 26 and May 7, at the HDF 59th ’Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi’ Aviation Base in Kecskemét, with the participation of selected corps of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the soldiers of the 178th fighter wing of the Ohio Air National Guard.

– Since 2005, we have organized exercise Load Diffuser every year. There were years where in addition to the Americans, Swedish troops also paid a visit to Hungary, or when we could welcome Croatians as well. This year one of the units of the Ohio National Guard has come but due to the closure of European airspace after the volcano eruption they were also late – Colonel Tibor Zsámboki tells us on the concrete of the Kecskemét airfield.

We were also told by the deputy commander of the Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi Aviation Base that the current exercise has been organized by the HDF Joint Force Command. The aim of the exercise is to share best practices and learn from each other’s techniques and procedures, furthermore to improve pilots’ ability to meet NATO air policing commitments.

The Americans participate in the joint maneuvers with eight F–16 fighters. They have flown across the ocean in four two-seater planes and four combat aircraft and arrived to Kecskemét via Germany. It is interesting that in the Iraqi war one of the F–16s shot down a MiG–23 above the desert country. In the US military, green stars at the cabin and/or black panthers – the symbol of the Ohio corps – on the tail of the aircraft are the signs of victory

Col. Zsámboki tells us that Hungarians participate with eight Gripens and two MiG–29s, but in addition to fighter planes – the symbol of which is the puma – a Mi–24 combat helicopter from the HDF 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base will also carry out tasks in the framework of Load Diffuser 2010. Naturally, daily life has not come to a standstill either at the Kecskemét military airport. Besides standby duty, there are unplanned trainings in progress not only at the fighter squadron but at the AN–26 airlift unit as well. During the two weeks of the exercise the air base is ’spinning ’ at a much higher speed than it did in recent months.

Hungarian and US planes take off two times a day and practice their task in the temporary airspaces requested in Southern Transdanubia. The task is to attack the designated ground target, which has to be prevented by the planes of the other nation – as defenders. Participants regularly rotate the roles of attackers and defenders.

– During the maneuvers the Air Task Order (ATO) is given by the competent personnel of the HDF Joint Forces Command and we receive it the day before execution so that we can prepare for the tasks. Since this is the basis of task planning and target identification, and naturally, defence also uses it when choosing tactical methods for upsetting the plans of the opponent – said Col. Zsámboki, who also mentioned that in so-called four-on-four aerial engagement it is not execution but planning that is problematic. Preparations often last longer than execution itself.

The deputy commander of the aviation base told honvedelem.hu that 24 Hungarian pilots participate in the exercise – the Gripen fighter squadron and those who have enough training to fly four-on-four tasks. They have also involved pilots who have not reached this level yet.

In addition to pilots, ground personnel are also practicing. Beyond servicing their own planes, the other objective is so-called cross-service, when technical staff has to provide minimal services to aircraft of the other nation as well. In other words, they have to be capable of receiving aircraft at the base and preparing them for flying again. Hungarian troops have already had a licence for that but it has to be renewed every year (it was more than a year ago that F–16s have been to Kecskemét).

Besides the troops from Kecskemét and Szolnok, soldiers have arrived from the HDF 12th ’Arrabona’ Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment as well. Like Lieutenant Colonel Sándor Molnár, the commander of the KUB anti-aircraft missile unit of the regiment said: they contribute to the exercise with an anti-aircraft missile team consisting of three reduced anti-aircraft missile batteries and a command post. They have also transported two long-range surveillance radars and a radar altimeter from Gyõr to Kecskemét by train.

We were told by the commander of the anti-aircraft missile unit that aviation profiles have been planned to satisfy the KUB troops as well, in order that they can practice so-called air base protection, activities against airplanes and helicopters attacking the air base, and the cooperation of airplanes guaranteeing the sovereignty of airspace and anti-aircraft crew. In other words: apart from rocket launch, they can practice every activity during the international exercise.