Hungarian Telegraphic Office
June 4, 2015
Defence Minister: Ukraine crisis and NATO undertakings are main tasks
The main defence tasks of the past year and a half include Hungary’s responses to the Ukraine crisis and NATO undertakings, Defence Minister Csaba Hende said in briefings to two parliamentary committees. Next year’s budget bill allocates defence spending of 298.6 billion forints (EUR 960m), a 22% increase on this year’s allocation. Hungary is making preparations for its military involvement in the international fight against Islamic State in Kurdistan, with ongoing consultations concerning the transfer of Hungarian soldiers to the site.
Hende noted the 50 billion forint development at the Pápa airbase, 30 billion of which is financed by NATO, adding that a hangar for NATO heavy-transport planes and a new complex was in the process of being built, as well as a supplementary control tower. Among procurements, Hende mentioned “bomb armaments” for ensuring implementation of air-ground operational tasks, as well as maintaining and developing an air defence missile system. He also said that as part of military equipment and defence and development cooperation programmes run alongside the United States, the US had provided 5 million dollars’ worth of equipment, a large portion of which has already been delivered.
In response to a question concerning the accident involving a Hungarian Gripen aircraft, Hende said the causes were still unknown and negotiations were ongoing concerning possibilities for replacing the fighter.
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