The Airspace Of Hungary Is Already Guarded By Gripens

Two JAS-39 Gripen EBS HU fighter aircraft entered armed standby service for the first time. The Gripens of the Kecskemét-based HDF 59th Dezsõ Szentgyörgyi Aviation Base controlled the airspace of Hungary on December 22 for the first time.

Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres, General András Havril, MoD Chief of Staff, and Lieutenant General (Eng.) László Tömböl, Commander of HDF Joint Forces Command also attended the ceremonial type change. The minister was received with military honours at the Kecskemét military airfield, then Imre Szekeres and the delegation viewed the ceremonial occasion.

Journalists could not attend this event for it was held in the standby room qualified as a ‘classified’ area. As a ‘compensation’, two Gripen fighter pilots, Lieutenant Colonel Csaba Ugrik and Captain Sándor Kálló gave an overview of the new aircraft and the armed standby service, telling us that the Hungarian Gripen fleet was completed on January 28, 2008, and pilots have been continuously trained since that day. In the last few months they participated in several live fire exercises, for example in the June air-to-air rocket shooting exercise held in Sweden. Owing to this preparation process, today there is a sufficient number of pilots at the aviation base with ‘Combat Ready’ qualification, thus command for standby service has also become possible.

"Combat Ready qualification means that the pilot is capable of completing the widest range of tasks at all times and under all kinds of weather conditions" – said Lt.Col. Ugrik, adding that a pilot must complete at least 7-11 months of intensive training to earn this qualification.

We have learned from Cpt. Kálló that the provision of armed standby service is a career peak for every fighter pilot. As of today, this can also be achieved by the Hungarian fighter pilots trained for Gripens.

When answering the question of honvedelem.hu, the pilots have also said that fourth generation Gripen fighters are specifically pilot-centered; during the flight there is much more time for tactics than flying – with the MiG-29s, the situation was exactly the opposite.

In the meantime, the syrens sounded, clearly audible in the entire base, indicating the alarm of the armed standby service in Kecskemét. The two aircraft on duty raised in the air in a mere ten minutes.

Defence Minister Imre Szekeres, watching planes No. 36 and 40 rising, said: those following this takeoff could witness a historic moment for until now, no JAS-39 Gripen fighter aircraft have been in armed standby service.

"Until the end of next year, Gripens and MiG-29s provide for the airspace protection of the country together, in three-week rotations, ensuring maximum security for our country. However, from January 1, 2010, only Gripens will protect the Hungarian airspace" – said Imre Szekeres.

Brigadier General István Petõ, Commander of the Kecskemét Aviation Base, added: this time the planes did not complete a live alarm – of course -, but a practice bearing the NATO code name TANGO. Usually the corps receive such an alarm on a weekly basis from the Combined Air Operations Centre of the North-Atlantic Alliance, located at Poggio Renatico, Italy. In the course of such practice alarms the pilots practice the same combat methods under the same strict circumstances as they would in a live situation.