Successful Serbian–Hungarian Cooperation of Warship Crews

This year’s iteration of the annual combined Serbian–Hungarian warship training event Iron Cat was held in Serbia. Between 13th and 29th September, near Titel, Serbia, on the designated water shooting range of River Tisza, four Serbian and two Hungarian warships carried out live fire exercises. The two-week combined training was historic because this has been the first time since the end of the Second World War that Hungarian warships participated in a training event abroad.

“The joint training Iron Cat 2015 has reached its goal. The excellent results of the live fire exercise involving water-based targets are proof of the soldiers’ preparedness. The warship crews were able to quickly learn the maneuvers and to successfully and efficiently cooperate with the soldiers of the Serbian flotilla", Lt.-Col. Zsolt Szilágyi told us.

The Deputy Commander of the HDF 1st EOD and Warship Regiment added that not only the LFX had produced perfect results, but also the preparation of technical assets for the exercise. The two vessels involved in the joint training – the minesweepers AM-31 DUNAÚJVÁROS and AM-32 DUNAFÖLDVÁR – had no malfunctions during the several hundred kilometers journey.

The program for the second half of the combined training event was firing at aerial targets. Lt.-Col. Szilágyi told us that they had managed to conduct the pre-exercise rehearsal with blank ammunition, but the live execution had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. “The target tug was unable to take off because of the low cloud base, so unfortunately we had to cancel this live fire exercise from the program", Lt.-Col. Szilágyi said, adding that the Serbians, too, had been intensively preparing for this year’s exercise, and the cooperation among the two nations’ soldiers was perfect. A Serbian warship awaited the Hungarian formation on the border, and led the Hungarian ships as far as Novi Sad. They carried out the fire missions in a combined formation all along.

The deputy commander also told us that at the end of Exercise Iron Cat 2015, “the Serbian partners expressly requested that the combined training should continue in the future". Next year Hungary will host the exercise, and according to plans, the Serbians will come by their own warships. As there are no water ranges in Hungary, instead of a live fire exercise, the two countries’ soldiers will probably practice counter-mine and search and rescue missions in 2016.

“At the farewell, the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army told us that to them, Iron Cat had been the most important exercise in this year. The same is true of the Hungarian warship crews", Lt.-Col. Zsolt Szilágyi emphasized.