Hungary’s defense ministry has allocated 100 billion HUF (324m EUR) this year for upgrading barracks and equipment.
According to Magyar Idők, the ministry has also purchased two used Airbus A319 aircraft which the armed forces will use for troop transport and evacuations.
More than 20 billion HUF will be used to overhaul 12 Mi-24 helicopter gunships and one Mi-17 transport helicopter in Russia. The delivery systems of Hungary’s Gripen fighter jets are also set for an upgrade.
There has also been 11 billion HUF earmarked for the renovation of barracks in Hódmezővásárhely, Tata and Szolnok.
A further 20 billion HUF has been put aside for bazookas up to 2026, 10 billion HUF for artillery in 2017-2019 and 10 billion HUF for radars in 2018-2023.
Hungary’s government aims to raise the annual defense budget, which currently amount to 428 billion HUF, to NATO’s target of 2 percent of GDP by 2024.