Hungary aims to have 30,000 soldiers on active duty by 2026, István Simicskó, minister of Defense, has said.
The minister said that the plan to boost Hungary's armed forces also includes a reserve force of 20,000 by 2026 and setting up voluntary regional defense units.
The number of reserve soldiers currently stands at around 6,000, a major improvement on the handful of reserves in 2010, he said.
An increased budget will be available for a larger staff force, and the defense budget will reach 2 percent of GDP, or 1 trillion HUF, by 2024.
According to MTI, the defense and armed forces development scheme, dubbed Zrínyi 2026, and the increased budget will enable the acquisition of state-of-the-art technologies to ensure that the army maintains 21st century capabilities.