Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the Hungarian armed forces will receive another 13 Gidran armoured vehicles at its base in Tata, in western Hungary, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the new vehicles manufactured in Turkey will be used by recruits who joined the forces in the wake of a government campaign in February. The minister said the Gidrans had first arrived at another base, in Kaposvár, in southern Hungary, where they were equipped with radios and other systems in preparation for their deployment. There are already 10 Gidrans in Tata, serving a rifle company under NATO’s Forward Land Forces Battle Group, the minister said.
The minister added that given the need to manage Hungary’s armed forces with speed and efficiency, as well as the changed security environment involving new kinds of emerging risks, current legislation will be changed with the aim of promoting greater operational flexibility. “It has become necessary to introduce a shorter, simpler, framework regulation that serves the flexible operation of the armed forces,” Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in the statement released late on Monday, adding that following an amendment to the Fundamental Law, the government will issue a decree which is to enter into force on July 1. Taking into account the special public service nature of national defense, the new legislation brings to the fore the requirements of the national defense sector and abandons the emphasis on regulations governed by the labour law, leading to a big reduction of red tape and greater flexibility in place of the application of the current rigid rules, he said. The salary system and length of service will be made more flexible and the mobility of personnel easier, faster and simpler, while commanders will be handed more discretion to determine salary increases and military tasks, he said. At the same time, the new decree paves the way for stricter requirements regarding behaviour and military discipline, as well as boosting military capability and training, he said. The aim is to foster a new service culture and to respond to the challenges of “the age of danger”, the statement said.