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The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the
Hungarian Defence Forces The Hungarian Defence Forces ( hu, Magyar Honvédség) is the national defence force of Hungary. Since 2007, the Hungarian Armed Forces is under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains the political and civil control over ...
. The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single command; under the Air Command and Control Centre.


History


1918 to pre–World War II

Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools. This air arm became the Hungarian Red Air Force under the short-lived
Hungarian Soviet Republic The Socialist Federative Republic of Councils in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szocialista Szövetséges Tanácsköztársaság) (due to an early mistranslation, it became widely known as the Hungarian Soviet Republic in English-language sources ( ...
, but was disbanded upon its downfall.


World War II

Under the
Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...
(1920), Hungary was forbidden from owning military aircraft. However, a secret air arm was gradually established under the cover of civilian flying clubs. During 1938, as a result of the Bled agreement, the existence of the Royal Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő (MKHL)), was made known. The army's aviation service was reorganized and expanded. Late 1938 the army aviation was once again reorganized.
Admiral Horthy Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
, the head of state, ordered that the army aviation should become an independent service effective 9 January 1939. Colonel Ferenc Feketehalmi Czeydner became the Air Section Chief in the Honvéd Ministry; Major General
Waldemar Kenese Waldemar, Valdemar or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame". The name is considered the equivalent of the Slavic name Vladimir, Volodymyr, Uladzimir or Wło ...
became Inspector of the Air Force; Colonel Ferenc Szentnémedy became Chief-of-Staff, and Colonel László Háry was appointed head of the ''Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő (MKHL)''. It subsequently participated in clashes with the newly established
Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
and in the border confrontation with the
Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
. In April 1941, operations were conducted in support of the German invasion of Yugoslavia and, on 27 June 1941, Hungary declared war on the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. In 1940, the decision was made to unite the Air Force, the anti-aircraft forces, and the civilian air defense organizations under one central headquarters. Colonel László Háry was retired 24 December 1940, and on 1 March 1941 the new organization was constituted. General András Littay became Air Sub-Department Chief, and Colonel Géza Vörös was appointed Head of the Air General Staff. On 1 June 1941, the Air Defense Corps was established, and Lieutenant General Béla Rákosi became Commander of Army Aviation. In effect the Air Force had once again become part of the Army. In the summer of 1942, an air brigade was attached to the Luftwaffe's VIII. Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front. Beginning March 1944, Allied bomber raids began on Hungary and progressively increased in intensity. The 101st "Puma" fighter group (later wing) was the elite unit of the MKHL (its name and insignia are carried on by the "Puma" fighter squadron of the Hungarian Air Force of today). Late in 1944 all efforts were redirected towards countering the advancing
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
, but to no avail. All fighting in Hungary ended on 16 April 1945.


Post–World War II to present

A small air arm was organised along Soviet lines during 1947. Following the communist takeover, Russian military aid was stepped up and a major expansion program initiated. By 1956 the Hungarian Air Force consisted of the 25th Fighter Division (''25. Vadászrepülő Hadosztály'', HQ in Taszár), the 66th Fighter Division (''66. Vadaszrepülő Hadosztály'', HQ in
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's th ...
), the 82nd Separate Bomber Division (''82.'' ''Önálló Bombázó Hadosztály'', HQ in Kunmadaras), the 28th Ground Attack Division (''28. Csatarepülő Hadosztály,'' HQ in Székesfehérvár) and a training air division. When Soviet forces invaded to suppress the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
, sections of the Hungarian Air Force attacked Soviet forces and resisted Russian attempts to occupy their bases. The resistance was short-lived and the entire Hungarian air force was
demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...
soon after. A reconstituted air arm was reformed in the following year as part of the Hungarian People's Army, but initially only as an internal security force. The remaining Hungarian air force assets were organised in the Aircraft Training Center (''Repülő Kiképző Központ'' (''RKK'')) on April 1, 1957, with one mixed aircraft types squadron each at the main fighter air bases at Pápa, Taszár and Kecskemét. Gradually, starting in 1959 as Hungary became stable, the air force was expanded again, but it remained an integral part of the army and was essentially a defensive force. During the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
period communist Hungary had numerous SA-2,
SA-3 The S-125 ''Neva/Pechora'' (russian: С-125 "Нева"/"Печора", NATO reporting name SA-3 ''Goa'') is a Soviet surface-to-air missile system that was designed by Aleksei Isaev to complement the S-25 and S-75. It has a shorter effective ra ...
and also SA-5 (one unit) batteries and a large number of radar installations, mostly tasked with defending the Danube line against NATO air strikes. Army air defense was equipped with the SA-4, SA-6 Kub and
SA-9 The 9K31 ''Strela-1'' (russian: 9К31 «Стрела-1»; en, arrow) is a highly mobile, short-range, low altitude infra-red guided surface-to-air missile system. Originally developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K31, it is c ...
, SA-13 systems besides conventional AAA units. The Hungarian People's Army Air Force operated the Il-28,
MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
,
MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...
,
MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
,
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
,
MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generati ...
and Su-22 jet combat aircraft during its existence. In the 1980s it had three fighter regiments (wings) at the three main bases with three squadrons each, with a total of approximately 100 active supersonic fighter aircraft. From 1989 the force was downsized several times until the early 2000s when only one active fighter squadron was remaining with often only 2-4 flyable alert ready aircraft at a given time. In mid-1993, three batches of 28 MiG-29s were delivered from Russia as a payment in kind of government debt. They were based at Kecskemét. In 1995, a German gift of 20
Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter ...
D/V's arrived. For most other former Warsaw Pact member countries, pilot training was not a big deal. Each nation maintained an independent aviation technical college, an academy for training military aircraft pilots, and technical personnel. After the Second World War, Hungary created György Kilián Aviation Technical College in 1949, but in the 1960s domestic pilot training was discontinued and the 18 then modern
Aero L-29 Delfin Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero (P ...
jet trainers were handed over to the Soviet Union. The training of pilots was conducted in several schools and bases in the USSR in the following years, and also in Czechoslovakia, in Košice. In Hungary, only helicopter pilots and technicians were trained at Szolnok. In 1993, Hungary commenced its first pilot training course since 1956 at the Szolnok Aviation Academy. For this, 12
Yak-52 The Yakovlev Yak-52 (russian: Яковлев Як-52) is a Soviet primary trainer aircraft which first flew in 1976. It was produced in Romania from 1977 to 1998 by Aerostar, as ''Iak-52'', which gained manufacturing rights under agreement wit ...
primary trainers were purchased from Romania. The German Government also donated 24
Aero L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flo ...
jet trainers. The cost of domestic pilot training was later deemed too high after a change of government, and was halted after the completion of only one course. Also in 1997 the MIG-23s and Su-22s were withdrawn from service, the later type was retired just after an overhaul. During the 1990s all combat aircraft were fitted with new Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems to enable operations in Western airspace. In April 2002, Hungary joined the
NATO Flying Training in Canada NATO Flight Training in Canada (NFTC) is a military flight training program for NATO and allied air forces provided by the Canadian Forces. Located at 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School, 15 Wing, CFB Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan and 4 Wing, CFB ...
(NFTC) pilot training program. Shortly after Hungary joined
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
in 1999, a push was made to replace the Air Force's MiG-29 fleet with a NATO-compatible fighter force. By 2001, several offers had been received, a Swedish offer with 24 JAS39C/D, the USA offered 24 used F-16's and multiple other offers had been received for the commissioning of various used aircraft. Despite the fact that the professional committees favored the F-16, on September 10, 2001, the Swedish bid won, and on December 20 Hungary signed a contract with the Swedish Government. The contract included leasing 14
JAS 39 Gripen The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (; English: ''griffin'') is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stabilit ...
s, two of which are two-seaters, for 12 years beginning in 2006 (later extended until 2026). By December 2007 all 14 jets had been delivered. After the lease period expires in 2026, Hungary will own the remaining Gripens. A large-scale modernization program was launched in 2016 under the name "Zrinyi 2026". Its first significant step was the order of 36 Airbus helicopters in 2018. 20 H145M was ordered for light utility, SAR, and light attack roles. Later that year 16 H225M helicopters were ordered for heavy transport and SOF roles. All 20 H145Ms were delivered by the end of 2021. In June 2020, the last plane from the
Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Tw ...
fleet was retired from service, temporarily leaving the Hungarian Air Force without tactical airlift capability. Two KC-390 were ordered to fill this role in late 2020. The first aircraft is to arrive in 2023, the second in 2024. The ground-based air defence arm also got a big boost in 2020 by ordering of the
NASAMS NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a distributed and networked short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Ae ...
missile system and the 11 ELM-2084 radars. The Mistral short range air defence system was also modernized. As part of modernization program, Hungarian Air Force also interested to obtain new advanced training aircraft. Hungarian Air Force perform evaluation flights of L-39NG during
Aero Vodochody Aero Vodochody (commonly referred to as Aero) is a Czech aircraft company. Its main production facilities are located at Vodochody Airport in the Prague-East District, on the municipal territories of Vodochody and Odolena Voda. During the ...
visit on 17 November 2021. In April 2022, Hungarian official and Aero announced that Hungary have signed agreement to purchase 12 L-39NGs and expected to be arrived in 2024. In August 2021 an upgrade contract was signed with
SAAB Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...
to modernize the Gripen fleet which would include an improved PS-05/A ''Mk4'' radar and new armament. After implementing the MS20 Block 2 software upgrade, the Hungarian Gripens would be able to launch
Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
, IRIS-T missiles, and GBU-49 bombs. All of these weapons are under procurement as of 2022. The Hungarian Air Force plans to keep its upgraded Gripen fleet well into the 2030s and even acquire enough fighters for a second fighter squadron. 5th generation aircraft like the
F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...
are too expensive, and their advanced capabilities are not necessary for the defense needs of Hungary. Airstrike capability (where stealth has a great advantage) is not a priority for the Hungarian Air Force, and no potential foe has stealth fighters in the region. Most likely, the Hungarian Air Force will skip on the 5th generation of fighter aircraft and plans to participate in one of the European fighter development projects in one way or another.


Structure

The following units are part of the Hungarian Air Force, but like all other operational units of the Hungarian Defense Forces they fall under operational control of the Hungarian Defense Forces Command in
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fej� ...
* Hungarian Defense Forces Command, in
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehérvár ("white castle"), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the regional capital of Central Transdanubia, and the centre of Fej� ...
** Air Command and Control Centre, in Veszprém *** Air Operations Centre *** Control and Reporting Centre **** Training and Reserve Control Centre, at Kecskemét Air Base *** Military Air Traffic Management Centre *** Meteorological Centre *** Simulation and Exercise Centre ** 12th Air Defense Missile Regiment ''" Arrabona"'', in
Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...
*** 1st Air Defense Missile Battalion, with
2K12 Kub The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (russian: 2К12 "Куб"; en, cube) (NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack. "2К12" is ...
mobile SAM systems *** 2nd Air Defense Missile Battalion, with Mistral SAM systems *** Command and Control Battalion *** Logistic Battalion *** Training Company ** 54th Radar Regiment ''"Veszprém"'', in Veszprém *** Command Company *** 1st Radar Data Centre, in
Békéscsaba Békéscsaba (; sk, Békešská Čaba; see also other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, the capital of Békés County. Geography Békéscsaba is located in the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budap ...
, with RAT-31DL *** 2nd Radar Data Centre, in
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
, with RAT-31DL *** 3rd Radar Data Centre, in Bánkút, with RAT-31DL *** 11th Radar Company, in Kup *** 12th Radar Company, in Juta *** 21st Radar Company, in
Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...
*** 22nd Radar Company, in
Békéscsaba Békéscsaba (; sk, Békešská Čaba; see also other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, the capital of Békés County. Geography Békéscsaba is located in the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budap ...
*** Gap Filling Radar Company, in Medina ** 59th Air Base ''" Dezső Szentgyörgyi"'', at Kecskemét Air Base *** Base Operations Center *** Tactical Fighter Squadron "Puma", with 14x JAS-39C/D Gripen *** Airlift Squadron "Teve", with 2x
Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...
, 2x
Dassault Falcon 7X The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the second largest of its Dassault Falcon line. Launched at 2001 Paris Air Show, its first flight was on 5 May 2005 and it entered service on 15 Ju ...
*** Operations Support Battalion *** Maintenance Battalion *** Logistic Battalion ** 86th Helicopter Base ''"Szolnok"'', at Szolnok Air Base *** Base Operations Center *** Attack Helicopter Battalion "Phoenix", with 2x Mi-24V, 6x Mi-24P *** Mixed Training Squadron, with 2x H125, 6x Z-242, 2x Z-143 *** Operations Support Battalion *** Maintenance Battalion *** Logistic Battalion **
Pápa Air Base Pápa Air Base is a military airbase located near Pápa, Hungary. The building of the airport started in 1936. The Hungarian Air Force has three active air bases, and is the only active air base in western Hungary. During World War II, severa ...
*** Base Operations Center *** Heavy Airlift Wing ( NATO Strategic Airlift Capability), with 3x
C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of t ...
*** Operations Support Battalion *** Logistic Battalion *** Information Protection Group The Hungarian Air Force Aircraft Repair Facility at Kecskemét Air Base falls under the Hungarian Defense Forces Logistics Center in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
.


59th Air Base "Dezső Szentgyörgyi"

The 59th Air Base is the home to fixed-winged aircraft of the Air Force. The 59th consists of one tactical fighter squadron and one airlift squadron. The airlift squadron, nicknamed "Teve" operates the air force's transport aircraft, while the Fighter Squadron is nicknamed "Puma" and operates JAS-39C/D Gripen fighters. On 19 May 2015 one two-seater Saab JAS39D Gripen crashed at the end of the runway at the Čáslav AFB. The pilots ejected safely, but the aircraft, nr. 42 with callsign PUMA66 was written off, damaged beyond repair. A replacement Gripen D was delivered from Sweden in 2016. On 10 June 2015, a single-seater JAS 39C, nr. 30, performed a belly landing at Kecskemét Air Base, Hungary. The pilot, Major Sándor Kádár, ejected successfully, but suffered spinal injuries.


86th Helicopter Base "Szolnok"

The 86th Base is the home of the air force's
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...
s. The 86th consists of one transport and one attack helicopter
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...
and the base also houses a mixed training company. *The transport helicopter battalion of the 86th Wing operates H145M's. *The Phoenix battalion operates Mi-24V/P attack helicopters. *The Training Squadron operates Z-242L trainers and H125 helicopters.


12th Air Defense Missile Regiment

The 12th Air Defense Missile Regiment is in charge of providing
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
to Hungary and fields: *
2K12 Kub The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (russian: 2К12 "Куб"; en, cube) (NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack. "2К12" is ...
mobile
Surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(SAM) systems. (To be replaced entirely with NASAMS by 2025) * Mistral lightweight SAM systems mounted on
Unimog The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...
all-terrain vehicles * 36D6 modernized, all-altitude surveillance radars, with domestically developed digital electronics suite. On 11 November 2020, the Hungarian Government announced that it purchased the
NASAMS NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a distributed and networked short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Ae ...
medium to long range air-defence system. It is scheduled to arrive in 2023.


Pápa AFB

Pápa Air Force Base was established as a military organization on 1 July 2001 as a part of Hungary's commitments to NATO's Infrastructural Development Program, and it is the legal successor of the HDF 47th Pápa Tactical Fighter Regiment.


Current inventory

NOTE: Three
C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of t ...
’s are stationed at
Pápa Air Base Pápa Air Base is a military airbase located near Pápa, Hungary. The building of the airport started in 1936. The Hungarian Air Force has three active air bases, and is the only active air base in western Hungary. During World War II, severa ...
in Hungary to support
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
’s
Strategic Airlift Capability The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a multinational initiative that provides its participating nations assured access to military airlift capability to address the growing needs for both strategic airlifts and tactical airlifts. SAC, esta ...
operations.


Aircraft armament

Meteor missiles and GBU-49 guided bombs are planned to be purchased for the Gripen fleet.


Air defense assets

File:SA-6 'KUB' missile system exercise!.jpg, SA-6 ''Kub'' in Hungarian service


Aircraft markings

The Hungarian aircraft marking is a set of aligned triangles which points toward the front of the aircraft. They are the same colour as the
Hungarian flag The national flag of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország zászlaja) is a horizontal tricolour of red, white and green (red-white-green). In this exact form, it has been the official flag of Hungary since 23 May 1957. The flag's form originates from nati ...
, red, white, and green. The innermost triangle is green, follow by white, and then red. It is displayed on the side of helicopters and in the standard four wing positions on aircraft. It was used by the Royal Hungarian Air Force until 1942, and then reinstated after the Second World War. The new Gripen fighters wear a NATO standard compliant grey-on-grey (low-visibility) version of the Hungarian triangle insignia. File:First Roundel of the Hungarian Red Air Force (1919).svg, First roundel of the Hungarian Red Air Force
1919 File:Roundel of the Hungarian Red Air Corps (second variant).svg, Hungarian Red Air Force
1919 File:Roundel of Hungary (1938-1942).svg, Royal Hungarian Air Force
(1938 – 1941) File:Roundel of Hungary (1942–1945).svg, Royal Hungarian Air Force
(1942 – 1945) File:Roundel of Hungary (1948–1949).svg, Hungarian People's Army Air Force
(1948 – 1949) File:Roundel of Hungary (1949–1951).svg, Hungarian People's Army Air Force
(1949 – 1951) File:Roundel of Hungary (1951–1990).svg, Hungarian People's Army Air Force
(1951 – 1990) File:Roundel of Hungary (1990-1991).svg, Hungarian Air Force
(1990 – 1991) File:Roundel of Hungary.svg, Hungarian Air Force (from 1991-) File:Roundel of the Hungarian Air Force (pre-2007; low visibility).svg, Hungarian Air Force low visibility version (since 2007-)


Ranks and insignia


References


Bibliography

*Dorschener, Jim. "Hungary's Fleet Revolution". ''
Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was fi ...
'', Vol. 86, No. 2. February 2014. pp. 72–75. ISSN 0306-5634. *


Further reading

*'' World Air Power Journal'' No.3 p. 150 *'' World Air Power Journal'' No.14 p. 148 *''
Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing, and based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It was established in 1988. It provides news and analysis on military aviation, technology and related topics ...
'' June 1997


External links

* * * * * * {{Authority control Military of Hungary Air forces by country Aviation in Hungary