The Hungarian defense industry has made amazing progress in recent years.Continue reading
Two new H225M transport helicopters arrived at the Kiss József 86th Helicopter Brigade in Szolnok (central Hungary) from the Airbus Helicopters production center in Marignane, southern France, on November 6.
The helicopters arrived in Hungary with the assistance of the squadron’s fleet, and will receive the Hungarian roundels this week. The pilots were welcomed by Colonel Dr. Tamás Baliás, commander of the unit.
In the framework of the Defense and Military Development Program, the Ministry of Defense signed a contract for a total of sixteen helicopters of this type in December 2018.
Photo: honvedelem.hu
Four of them have already arrived in Hungary, and the next two are expected to arrive in December.
Photo: honvedelem.hu
Speaking at yesterday’s Defense Supplier Development Program conference, Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stressed that “we need to make the Hungarian armed forces combat capable and the defense industry competitive, because this will not only guarantee the country’s security, but also serve the growth of the economy.”
He said that
in order to develop the defense industry, strategic agreements and joint ventures had been concluded with a number of large companies, such as Rheinmetall, Dynamit Nobel Defence, Airbus Helicopters, and Nurol Makina.
Rheinmetall military vehicles. Photo: Facebook/Orbán Viktor
The minister emphasized that the aim is to increase the involvement of Hungarian-owned companies in defense industrial development and production, and to enable more Hungarian companies to achieve NATO supplier certification, so that they can contribute to increasing national resilience with their expertise, experience, and innovative ideas.
To this end, a supplier development program has been organized and a support institution has been set up. The program will operate on a competitive bidding system, a defense industrial capital fund will be established under the management of Focus Venture Zrt., and non-reimbursable grants will be managed within N7 Zrt. The aim is to double the current share of Hungarian suppliers in the defense industry.
Via honvedelem.hu, MTI; Featured image: honvedelem.hu