The Hungarian government aims to make their military one of the “most decisive” armies in the region, István Simicskó, minister of Defense, has said.
The minister said that the potential of the national economy ensured opportunities “unprecedented in the past 25 years” to develop the armed forces. He said his ministry had elaborated medium and long-term strategies to enable the army to give appropriate responses to “challenges of the present and the future”.
According to MTI, under that program, dubbed Zrínyi 2026, the government will change soldiers’ personal equipment in terms of clothing and weapons, as well as modernize the Air Force.
Minister Simicskó said that the military contributed some 15,000 soldiers to Hungary’s border control efforts. In 2016, the Hungarian armed forces participated in some 40 international exercises, while some 1,000 troops had served in international missions.
Concerning Hungary’s voluntary reserve force of 5,300, Simicskó said that the corps would be developed into a national network with units in each district of the country.
Simicskó said that the government greatly appreciated the work of soldiers and added that their salaries have been raised by 40 percent since 2015.