More Military Helicopters Join the Defense Forces Fleet

Two more H225M helicopters have been delivered to the Hungarian Defense Forces from the Airbus Helicopters manufacturing center in France, the Minister of Defense announced.

“The aircraft arrived at the Kiss József 86th Helicopter Brigade in Szolnok (central Hungary) on Monday afternoon,” Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said, adding that “the new high-tech equipment will further strengthen the Hungarian Air Force’s parachute and airborne troops capability.”

In the framework of the cooperation between the French Airbus and the Hungarian Defense Forces, the H225M helicopter fleet at the brigade has been expanded to eight with the newly arrived aircraft, so that half of the total fleet of sixteen H225Ms is now in Hungary,”

the Minister noted.

He said that Brussels and Western European leaders want war, and Hungary wants to stay out of  it, “but for the security of the Hungarian people we are continuously strengthening our defense capabilities.”

He recalled that the brigade received its first helicopters on July 24, 2023, and the new aircraft have been arriving continuously since then. In line with NATO’s expectations, Hungary has met the desired two percent budget level for military expenditure for the second year running. 20 percent of this is spent on developments by the Hungarian Defense Forces within the framework of the military development program.

The Minister pointed out that 2024 can also be called the year of the air force, as a number of new equipment and measures will focus on the air capabilities of the Defense Forces. “In the year to date, we have acquired four new Gripen aircraft, we have established a center of excellence with SAAB that also uses extended reality (XR) technology, and pilots received a significant pay raise at the beginning of the year,” he concluded.

Via MTI, Featured image: honvedelem.hu