The German arms industry remains a key partner in the Hungarian land forces' modernization drive.Continue reading
The Ejder Yalçın combat vehicle, known in Hungary as the Gidran, is part of the culture change and development program launched in the Hungarian Defense Forces. The aim is to provide a modern, innovative and high-tech force to defend the country, Honvedelem.hu reports.
In spring 2021, the Hungarian Defense Forces were equipped with the multipurpose armored vehicles, which can be used primarily in a support role. The vehicles, originally named Ejder Yalçın, take their new name from one of the Hungarian horse breeds bred at the Mezőhegyes stud farm. The Gidran breed is considered a national treasure by a 2014 parliamentary decision.
The Ejder Yalçın vehicles, developed and manufactured by Turkish Nurol Makina, have already gained combat experience, and were adapted by the manufacturer to meet Hungarian needs. The first ten Gidran rolled into the Tata barracks on February 8-9, 2021.
The vehicles have an unladen weight of 14 tons, a length of 5.8 meters, and a width and height (excluding the turret) of 2.5 meters. Inside is a six-cylinder, 8,900 cc, 375 horsepower Cummins turbo-diesel engine, allowing the vehicles to travel at up to 120 kilometers per hour on public roads. Its design is explosion-proof, a particularly important factor in today’s warfare world, and its high ground clearance allows it to negotiate a trench up to 1.1 meter deep.
The Hungarian Gidrans are fitted with the ASELSAN SARP stabilized, remotely controlled turret, that can be fitted with a 7.62 mm medium or 12.7 mm heavy machine gun, or a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher. The turret is equipped with a day and night camera system for target detection and identification and a laser rangefinder.
Another feature that the Hungarian Defense Forces have purchased is the ASELSAN SEDA-V acoustic shot detector for the vehicles, which can determine from where the Gidran was fired upon. Thanks to the assembly and subsequent production in Hungary, the Gidrans will be able to perform all levels of missions, be it reconnaissance, chemical defense, or troop transport. In the Eastern Industrial Park in Kaposvár, the production of military machinery has already begun with the assembly of Gidran armored fighting vehicles.
The Hungarian government is placing particular emphasis on the development of the Hungarian Defense Forces, partly due to the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine and the security threats it poses. As a result, defense investments are emphasized, with one of the large players being German defense and automotive giant Rheinmetall. The manufacturer is building an ammunition factory in Várpalota and a factory for armored fighting vehicles in Zalaegerszeg. The latter one will produce Lynx IFVs and combat support vehicles, with the first of these to be delivered in 2024.
Hungarian Minister of Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky has talked about the development of the defense military a number of times. He stated that Hungary is entering a new phase of military development based on the lessons learned from the Russian-Ukrainian war, aiming to introduce the latest technologies and then to unite the individual elements into a strong national army.
The minister also emphasized last year that the Hungarian government’s priority national and economic strategic goal is for Hungary to become the leading defense industrial center in Central Europe in both manufacturing and R&D.
Featured photo via Facebook/honvedelem.hu
