Defence minister urges arms exports

Hungary recognised the need to rebuild its defence capabilities and embark on a comprehensive military development programme as early as the beginning of the previous decade, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.

In the current phase of its strategic development, Hungary’s task is to begin exporting the equipment manufactured in Hungary, the minister said.

Szalay-Bobrovniczky criticised the previous governments for delaying the upgrade of the Hungarian military. He said the Hungarian economy had got strong enough by 2015 for a military development programme involving the complete replacement of its land and air equipment. Hungary, he added, was now enjoying the benefits of the “acceptable prices and delivery deadlines” negotiated back then because of the defence industry’s more limited capacities at the time.