Minister of Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky met with Elbridge A. Colby, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in Washington on November 7. The minister reported that they discussed the purchase of HIMARS rocket artillery systems and missiles at the Pentagon. Speaking to the public media on Saturday about the details, he said that the purchase could be considered over a 3-5 year period, following authorization by the U.S. Congress.
In an interview with the public media after the meeting, Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized that Friday’s meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and U.S. President Donald Trump opens up opportunities for further defense industry cooperation and defense procurement, as well as for very broad cooperation in the space industry. Regarding the tone of the meeting held at the Pentagon, he reported that he experienced a “changed atmosphere and friendly” reception.
As the minister said, the times when the previous U.S. administration even acted in an obstructive manner against certain steps in Hungarian military development have been “completely gone.”
He said that during the recent talks in Washington, the Trump administration made it clear that Hungary would be able to procure the technology and other equipment it needs in the areas where it is needed.
We have a list, a 10-year military development plan that includes planned purchases in a wide variety of areas,”
added the minister.
When asked about the news in 2023 that Hungary was purchasing HIMARS rocket artillery systems from the United States, with leaked information mentioning 20-24 artillery systems and 100 rockets, the politician responded that this is not the exact number, but in terms of order of magnitude, this is approximately the case, and that the purchase of all of these requires prior authorization from the U.S. Congress. The minister pointed out that the procurement of artillery equipment and missiles is a long process, even if congressional authorization has already been obtained.
In response to a question from the public media, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that preliminary negotiations were already underway and that he had now also held talks at the Pentagon in Washington.
He estimated that
the process would take 3-5 years, which he said was “theoretically conceivable.” HIMARS is a highly sought-after weapon system, and there is a “waiting list” for purchases, hence it is not possible to give an exact deadline,
he said.
Minister Szalay-Bobrovnickzy emphasized that in order to implement the issues discussed in practice, there will be a wide range of negotiations in the future to determine “what specific tools and defense industry opportunities Hungary will be able to take advantage of within the expanding Hungarian-American relationship.”
He added that the meeting also touched on the U.S. expectation that its European allies and Europe as a whole should take action to defend themselves. Hungary is doing a great deal to meet these expectations of Europe through its own military development, the defense minister noted in Washington.
Via MTI, Featured image: Honvedelem.hu/Honvédelmi Minisztérium
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