The minister said that the Spanish Air Force’s F/A-18 Hornet fighters assumed armed quick-reaction alert duty on December 1, after which the Hungarian JAS-39 Gripen detachment returned to Kecskemét. Redeployment of personnel and equipment — including nearly 60 tonnes of gear — has now begun and will continue until December 5. The cargo is being flown home by an An-124 Ruslan and one of NATO’s C-17 transport aircraft stationed in Pápa, while the contingent’s personnel are returning aboard a Hungarian A319. Vehicles and technical equipment will be transported by road.
The Hungarian Defence Forces’ Baltic Armed Air Defence Alert Unit “Block 69” participated in air-policing tasks over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with four Gripen fighters and roughly 80 personnel. Over the four-month mission, the detachment conducted 22 live scrambles, 87 training scrambles, and accumulated more than 400 flight hours.
According to the minister, the successful conclusion of the mission demonstrates both the professionalism of Hungarian airmen and Hungary’s reliability as a contributor to NATO’s collective defence. “With this successfully completed deployment, the Hungarian Defence Forces have strengthened the security of the Baltic states and the alliance as a whole, reaffirming Hungary’s commitment to our common defence,” Szalay-Bobrovniczky said.
He added that during the mission Hungary’s fighter aircraft provided air-policing coverage not only in the Baltic region but across seven NATO member states — Hungary itself, the three Baltic countries, as well as Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.