Director of NATO Office of Resources Visits Hungary
Szöveg: Ministry of Defence | 2017. március 27. 9:00Director of NATO Office of Resources (NOR) John F. Aguirre held discussions in Hungary about the development projects implemented within the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP) and the evolution of Hungary’s defence budget. On 20–21 March, the American guest visited Pápa and Székesfehérvár, where he was informed about the recently completed and ongoing development projects, of which the NSIP investments and resources are of special importance.
In what followed, John F. Aguirre also met with Dr. Richárd Adorján, Deputy State Secretary for the Budget of the Ministry for National Economy. At the meeting, the introduced areas included the planning process of the central budget and the macroeconomic environment determining it.
Development projects on HDF Pápa Air Base
The development of the HDF Pápa Air Base has a dual purpose. On the one hand, to meet NATO requirements, it must become suitable for functioning as the Main Operating Base of the C-17 fleet owned by the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC). On the other, to meet a national requirement, the base must ensure takeoff and landing as well as servicing of military aircraft under any weather conditions. The development projects needed to achieve these goals must be implemented in accordance with a capability package approved by the NATO North Atlantic Council in August 2016 and under government decision No. 1553/2015 (07/06). The costs of the development program total HUF 41 billion, 58 per cent of which is covered by Hungary from national resources.
The already completed important elements of the program are the new air traffic control tower and the hangar complex which provides servicing of the C-17s as well as more space for operational activities and handling services. Construction of a personnel (PAX) terminal is under way and will be finished by the end of 2017, just like the partial modernization of the utility network, whereas the pool of motor vehicles and aerodrome servicing equipment of the air base will be upgraded by a 2018 deadline.
In the interest of assisting the preparation of other development projects, a complex program schedule will be drawn up by July 2017, after which the planning and implementation processes can start. The most significant and at once most complex project in the program involves a close to 600 meter extension to the runway of the air base. The entire infrastructure development program will have been completed by the end of 2022.
NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU), Székesfehérvár
NATO has established multinational command and control centers (NATO Force Integration Unit, NFIU) in the areas of several allied nations. The Hungarian NFIU (NFIU HUN) is set up in Székesfehérvár, where Hungary has implemented the necessary infrastructure development, while the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) has procured and installed the CIS equipment meeting NATO standards. The NFIU HUN was immediately integrated into the domestic supply chain. Due to the strict deadline for establishment, active cooperation and coordination of the tasks among the participating nations was especially important and took place in an exemplary way during the program.
The supply contract for carrying out the national tasks of the NFIU was signed on 18 April 2016, and in November 2018 the inauguration ceremony of the NFIU building was held in the presence of the minister of defence and a number of high-ranking guests.
The costs of the NFIU investment totaled approx. HUF 1.2 billion, of which 78 per cent was covered by NATO and 22 per cent from national resources. During the site survey and discussions, the Director of the NOR spoke highly of Hungary’s efforts to contribute significant national resources to the attainment of NATO’s prioritized capability goals, part within the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP), and part independent of it as a national investment.
Photo: Ministry of Defence
