Lieutenant General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi also tested the new equipment.Continue reading
Hungary is building a brave, innovative and high-tech army, the Minister of Defense said on Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony of the ammunition factory in Várpalota, some 90 kilometers from Budapest. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky stressed that the Hungarian Defense Forces must be able to serve itself and operate as an independent system, and investments such as the ammunition factory are essential for this.
The Minister highlighted that Hungary fills a big gap in terms of domestic and European defense capabilities, and Várpalota will produce the ammunition compatible with the combat equipment also produced in Hungary.
The groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of the first phase of the Defense Industrial Park, which will create almost 200 new jobs. In the first phase, the factory will produce ammunition for the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (to be produced in Zalaegerszeg), followed by the Leopard 2A7HU, and finally the PzH 2000 HU self-propelled howitzer from 2024.
The Defense Minister indicated that Rheinmetall AG will in future supply Hungary with an arsenal of infantry fighting vehicles, armored fighting vehicles, artillery pieces, and smoke grenade launchers. Over the next five years, a complex will be built on an area of about four square kilometers that will supply the Hungarian armed forces with a wide range of small, medium, and large caliber ammunition, guns, mortars, and explosives.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky pointed out that
a major increase in the Hungarian Defense Forces’ strike capability will not only contribute to guaranteeing the country’s security, but also to the stability of the NATO system.
Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, expressed his pleasure that after Zalaegerszeg, where a tank factory is being built, the ammunition for the vehicles will be produced in Várpalota, in line with the strategic plans of the Hungarian government.
Also on Thursday, the Hungarian Defense Minister attended the military swearing-in ceremony of the Voluntary Territorial Defense Reserve Volunteers, who are undergoing uniform basic training. He said that
Hungary is building a modernized and determined force, capable of meeting the challenges of a changing world, with the capacity to provide a serious deterrent.
On Thursday, 147 people took the oath. They were deployed on November 7 to the Territorial Defense Battalions to begin their basic training. The training consisted of a five-week basic military training and a two-week basic rifleman training cycle.
Featured photo via Facebook/Magyar Honvédség
