Another two Airbus H225M transport military helicopters have been delivered to the Hungarian Defence Forces from the Airbus manufacturing centre in France – announced the minister of defence on Monday, 13 May. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the helicopters had arrived at the airbase of the Szolnok-based HDF 86th Helicopter Wing on Monday afternoon. The new high-tech aircraft will further strengthen the airborne and airdrop capabilities of the Hungarian air force. Within the framework of cooperation between the French Airbus company and the Hungarian Defence Forces, the Wing now has altogether eight helicopters in its fleet, including the ones that just arrived, so half of the complete fleet of 16 H225Ms is already in Hungary.
Brussels and the Western European leaders want war, and Hungary wants to stay out of this war, but we must continuously strengthen our defence capabilities in the interest of the Hungarian people’s security. He recalled that the Wing had received the first helicopters on 24 July 2023, and since then the aircraft have regularly been arriving. In line with NATO expectations, Hungary has been spending 2% of its GDP on defence for two years now, 20% of which the Hungarian Defence Forces are allocating to developments within the framework of the armed forces development program.
The minister of defence pointed out that the goverment may call 2024 the year of the Hungarian air force, as several new aircraft and measures are focused on the air capabilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces. To date in 2024, the Hungarian Defence Forces have procured four new Gripen fighter jets. In cooperation with SAAB, military have established a Center of Excellence that also uses Extended Reality (XR) technology, and early this year, the pilots received a significant salary rise as well.
The Hungarian Ministry of Defence has ordered 16 H225M multi-purpose helicopters equipped with the HForce weapon management system. Airbus will also provide an extensive training and support package to ensure the highest level of operational availability. Airbus Helicopters H225M is a long-range tactical transport military helicopter developed from the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar for military use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 28 seated troops along with two crew, depending on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for troop transport, casualty evacuation, and combat search and rescue duties, and is similar to the civilian EC225 Super Puma.
