The Hungarian Defence Forces Are Working on Developments for Use in Both Military and Civil Life
Szöveg: MTI, Ministry of Defence | 2013. április 11. 10:32“The affiliated institutions of the Hungarian Defence Forces are working not only on defence industry developments but also on several ones whose use can make the life of the civil population significantly easier” – said Minister of Defence Csaba Hende at a session of the parliamentary ad hoc committee on innovation and development held on Tuesday, April 9.
In his presentation, after describing the state of Hungary’s defence industry, the Minister
talked about two groups of current developments, namely the range of defence industry
products for military use only and the so-called dual-use products. By way of example, in the
field of defence industry innovation he referred to the development of machine guns, assault
rifles and EOD vehicles, as well as to a project on the modernization of target drones.
Talking about these topics, Csaba Hende also mentioned a project in which the MoD
Technology Agency is cooperating with a Swedish company to produce a material that would
result in a kind of special “stealth technology" for fighter aircraft, for example the Gripens
in Hungary. Effective at high temperatures, the radar-absorbent material (RAM) is being
developed with the use of nanotechnology.
Besides the products of defence industry innovation, work is also in progress on several dual-
use developments which may be used in civil life in addition to their application for military
purposes. By way of example, Csaba Hende pointed to a drone which has been developed
in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program. Speaking about this, the Minister said that
“from a tactical point of view, it has enormous significance under the circumstances of
asymmetric warfare".
This UAV is “a wholly Hungarian development, being the result of Hungarian engineering
talent and Hungarian manufacturing", Minister Hende added, noting that in his opinion,
because similar pieces of equipment are priced 30-40 per cent higher than this product of
Hungary, there is a good chance to find significant markets for these items of equipment.
Talking about the potential civil uses of drones, the Minister mentioned the search for missing
people and the execution of border security tasks.
In connection with the current issue of arsenic removal from drinking water, the Minister of
Defence referred to the containerized water purification, water storage and water dispenser
device of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Thanks to their unique filtering technology, these
devices produce water with significantly lower arsenic content than the limit value set by the
European Union. Close to 50 such devices are already operating nationwide in Hungary.
Photos: Mária Krasznai-Nehrebeczky
