“Moonstar 2024” Multi-national Military Exercise Promotes Interoperability

“We believe that in the coming period, area protection will be at the forefront (…), and it is also extremely important that cooperation with neighboring countries is well-oiled,” stressed Brigadier General Dr. László Dróth, Commander, HDF Territorial Defense Forces Command, about the significance of the “Moonstar 2024” multi-national military exercise.

The “Moonstar 2024” exercise, now in its fourth year, has been taking place with the participation of nearly 200 Hungarian, Slovakian and Polish reserve soldiers, reports Honvedelem.hu. The primary objective is to verify the readiness and capabilities of the reserve soldiers and thus determine further training requirements.

Since the exercise became international last year, it has also provided an opportunity to increase interoperability and to share experiences.

A perfect example of this was the exercise carried out by the Poles on the day of the exercise, simulating a response to an attack in open terrain. “The Poles showed us something today that we have not seen from them before; they taught us a patrol procedure that they have learned from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” emphasized Brigadier General Dr. László Drót.

The Hungarian participants have several years of experience, which, according to the commander is perfectly evident from the professional way in which they carried out the simulated attack on the patrol base. Their Slovak counterparts, almost entirely new recruits, despite only six weeks of training, also carried out the convoy raid “with great confidence”, he noted. Brigadier General Dr. László Drót also mentioned that as the “first act” of “Moonstar 2024,” the Hungarian Defense Forces conducted a joint firing exercise with the United States earlier this year.

As a result of the ongoing recruitment campaign, over a thousand people have already signed a contract with the Hungarian Defense Forces to serve our country as territorial defense reservists.

Recruitment offices and recruitment points are still open to those interested in reserve service, and information and applications can be found at iranyasereg.hu.

A press release issued on the spot said that 190 Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian territorial defense reservists were taking part in the exercise, which took place between September 2 and 13.

Via Honvedelem.hu, MTI; Featured image via Photo: Honvedelem/Schöff Gergely