British Troops Arrive in Hungary as Part of NATO Exercise

As part of the NATO Steadfast Dart 2025 large-scale exercise, British Forces military convoys are moving through the country in phases for the redeployment of their troops. On January 21, at dawn, three convoys arrived in Szentes (southern Hungary), at the II Rákóczi Ferenc 14th Technical Regiment, from the airfield base in Pápa (western Hungary), with 150 soldiers carrying out logistical tasks, reports Honvedelem.hu.

Dr. Attila Csurgó, Colonel, Commander of the II Rákóczi Ferenc 14th Technical Regiment, said that the host unit in Szentes will provide accommodation, supplies, and support for the Allied Forces soldiers in carrying out maintenance tasks. “My colleagues assist in similar redeployments on several occasions each year. Host nation support is a core mission of every corps. The first part of Exercise Steadfast Dart 2025 is the redeployment of forces, including the movement of British Army units on land to assess the speed of force redeployment and the effectiveness of the host nations,” emphasized Colonel Csurgó.

He pointed out that

this year’s largest NATO exercise demonstrates that the alliance is capable of handling a crisis situation in the Eastern region, and that it is able to redeploy troops quickly, without accidents, and decisively.

The colonel stressed that the real purpose of the exercise is “to show the strength that NATO represents and to deter potential adversaries who might be thinking of escalating an existing conflict.”

Attila Csurgó believes that the logistical support, the inclusive national support, is as much a part of this NATO exercise as the execution of the mission itself. As he said, they are trying to help the British troops carry out their tasks effectively by organizing transport, providing fuel and food, accommodation, and all other ancillary activities.

Testing interoperability is key. This was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Higgs, UK Defense Attaché in Hungary and Croatia.

As well as demonstrating NATO’s readiness and capability, this exercise underlines the military mobility of nations. It shows the forces of the Alliance’s members as mobile, strong, credible, prepared, and ready to deploy,”

he stressed.

The Hungarian Defense Forces will establish convoy support centers as part of the inclusive national support. By ensuring and supporting the passage of Allied forces, Hungary is actively contributing to the exercise in Romania. The last British convoys will leave Hungary on January 25.

Via MTI, Honvedelem.hu; Featured photo via MTI/Lehoczky Péter