International Military Delegation Visits Hungarian Airbases and Military Facilities

Airbase and military facility visits and demonstrations of new major weapons systems were held in Hungary between October 10-11. On this occasion, a delegation of fifty-four international participants visited the Kecskemét Air Base (Southern Great Plain) and the 25th Infantry Brigade “György Klapka” (Tata, northwestern Hungary).

In accordance with the Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures 2011, Member States are required to present an airbase (where combat aircraft are stationed) and a military installation in five-year cycles, as well as new weapons systems that have not yet been deployed elsewhere, reports honvedelem.hu.

On Tuesday October 10, Major Mihail Istvanovics Várdai said: “A total of fifty-four representatives of twenty-eight states and two partner organizations accepted our invitation. The participants were presented the structure of the Kecskemét base and its daily training activities.”

In Kecskemét, the visitors had the opportunity to see, among other things, the Gripen hangar and the JAS-39 fighter aircraft, as well as the emergency shelter and crew quarters, and visited the aircraft museum and a “Defector” mission demonstration.

On Wednesday, October 11, the foreign delegation arrived at the the 25th Infantry Brigade “György Klapka” in Tata. First, Colonel Zoltán Pozderka gave a presentation on the land forces, followed by Colonel István Tóth, Commander of the Brigade, who presented the daily activities of the unit. Afterwards, during a tour in the barracks, they visited the hangar where the Leopard 2A4 medium tanks were, and then they had a look at the PzH 2000 self-propelled gun simulators.

For the rest of the day, a static demonstration was held in the hangar and a dynamic demonstration at the firing range in Szomód (near Tata). To close the day, the delegation had the opportunity to witness a dynamic demonstration of a KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle and the firing of two Gidran armored fighting vehicles.

During the visit, the international delegation was given a comprehensive overview of Hungary’s security and defense policy, the Hungarian Defense Forces, the Hungarian Air Force, and the Hungarian Ground Forces,”

said Major Várdai, summing up the two days, adding that the visiting team was fully satisfied with what they had seen.

Via Honvédelem.hu, Featured image: Honvédelem.hu