Commander of United States Air Forces in Europe Visits Hungary

Szöveg: Defence Staff | 2013. január 10. 12:41

Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the commander of the United States Air Forces in Europe (COMUSAFE) paid a two-day visit to Hungary on January 7–8.

On the first day of his official program, the high-ranking guest visited Pápa, where he inspected the NATO Heavy Airlift Wing. Implemented in Pápa with Hungary’s participation, the multinational capability development program is a priority for our country, since as host nation we are especially interested in the success of the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) program.

The importance of the visit paid by the American guest is also evidenced by the fact that NATO is going to endorse the Air Basing Selection Methodology (ABSM) in early January. Prepared by the NATO Military Authorities, this document forms the basis of selecting the airbases necessary for allied operations and paves the way for starting negotiations on the implementation of the earlier suspended Air Base Capability Packages as well as the working out of new ones. The document under preparation and the commanders’ intentions have outstanding significance for the future of the Strategic Airlift Capability and of the HDF Pápa Air Base in a wider sense.

On the second day, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende, Gen. Dr. Tibor Benkő, the Chief of the Defence Staff and Brig.-Gen. Albert Sáfár, the Air Force Chief of the HDF Joint Force Command received Gen. Breedlove on a courtesy call. The topics of the closed-door discussions on the Hungarian side included the planned future development tasks such as hangar construction project, the upgrading of the air base to a multimodal transportation hub, the generation of air refueling capability in Pápa and the planned Hungarian contribution to the training and potential permanent basing of the NATO AWACS air surveillance aircraft.

During the discussions, Gen. Breedlove said thanks for the excellent operation of the base, the support from the town and the professional cooperation, and also pointed out the usefulness of the planned Hungarian developments.