Hungarian News Agency
January 3, 2014
Hungarian Gripens In Charge Of Nato Air Control Over Slovenia
From now on, Hungary’s Gripen fighters are in control of air space not only in Hungary but also in Slovenia, daily Magyar Nemzet said. Controlling air space is a shared task for NATO allies, and Slovenia has no fighters of its own.
Starting from this year, Hungary is taking over the task from Italy. If any violation of Slovenian air space is reported, Hungary’s Gripens will fly over to clarify the situation, it said. Defence Minister Csaba Hende said in July 2013 that the Hungarian army’s Gripens will join air control operations in Slovenia from 2014, and similar operations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 2015.
If all goes according to plan, Hungary will have to relocate four Gripens and their crew to Lithuania from 2015 on without compromising its capabilities to defend its own air space.
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