part of the Israeli Iron Dome air defence system has been sighted near the Hungarian settlement of Kup in Veszprém County The portal indicates that this new equipment has been delivered to the radar squadron of the Air Operations Command and Control Centre of the Hungarian Defence Forces Eleven of these systems were acquired under the Defence and Force Development Programme The Ministry of Defence will provide information later on the arrival of the new radars replace the old Soviet P-37, PRV-17, and ST-68U radars currently used by the Defence Forces. In addition to the radar procurement, the two parties also reached an agreement on industrial cooperation. According to the plans, individual components of the military equipment, as well as their complete final assembly, will be conducted in Hungary. This manufacturing process will take place at the Defence Forces’ specialized plant for air defence systems located in Nyírtelek, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. The ELM-2084 procured by Hungary is classified as a multi-mission mobile radar. According to the manufacturer’s description, this radar employs a state-of-the-art phase-controlled antenna, enabling it to generate a three-dimensional, real-time airborne situational picture even in challenging conditions. This capability remains effective even in scenarios involving active and passive electronic jamming by enemy forces. The radar possesses continuous aerial reconnaissance capabilities, offering 360-degree coverage with a maximum reconnaissance range of 470 kilometres. It is capable of processing data from up to 1,100 airborne targets simultaneously. It can control interceptors from various missile defence and air defence systems through its existing data link systems, with the option to integrate additional data link systems if necessary. When employed as an artillery reconnaissance radar, the ELM-2084 can accurately determine the point of impact for various munitions, including grenades, artillery shells, and rockets, as well as identify launch sites. It has a coverage area of up to 120 degrees and a range of 100 kilometres. The radar can track up to 200 targets per minute and is equipped to direct counter-attacks by its own artillery if necessary. It offers detection of targets up to 33 kilometers above the ground during continuous air reconnaissance. Additionally, it can be mounted on an all-terrain vehicle and is transportable by air. In addition to Hungary, the Czech and Slovak armies have also chosen to deploy the ELM-2084 radar system. Besides Israel, which utilizes it in the Iron Dome system, countries such as Canada, Singapore, Finland, Vietnam, India, and others also employ this advanced reconnaissance and targeting system. Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective. Belépés Six new Hungarian arms factories to manufacture weapons for export as well – if Orbán's plan worksEnglish the Orbán governments embarked on a major development of the military but they also started to develop the domestic armaments industry Six new arms plants are currently being built in the country: more specifically two are already operational and four are in the construction or planning phase A German giant has been chosen by the government as a partner for the most significant investments and the priority is to ensure that the factories being built will produce for export as well as meet domestic needs We looked at the probability of the government's calculations on foreign orders coming true Hungary has invested little money and energy in developing its military and the domestic defense industry has all but disappeared With the exception of one or two major purchases (such as the Gripens) the pre-2010 governments left the defense sector to almost entirely wither away with its armament still consisting mainly of obsolete Soviet equipment there was virtually no domestic arms industry which produces ammunition for small caliber handguns being almost the only major player left and which is now in the hands of Luxembourg-based Beretta In a recent article, Direkt36 looked at the processes of Hungarian military development the Orbán governments have decided on the purchase of weapons worth thousands of billions of forints the Hungarian political leadership is also trying to boost the domestic defense industry As the development of a modern weapon takes a very long time and requires considerable know-how the Hungarian state is not setting up the domestic defense plants on its own but has also included a large German company in the process They set out to build a few arms factories in Hungary in partnership with Rheinmetall The company was founded 130 years ago and is considered one of Europe's leading military companies Joint ventures have been set up in which the German arms manufacturer is the majority shareholder – with 51 percent – and the Hungarian state owns the remaining 49 percent speaks after the ceremony of swearing-in of volunteers and on the occasion of handing over of the Lynx KF41 combat vehicles at Petőfi Sándor barracks on 15 October 2022 – Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák / MTIRheinmetall is involved in the construction and operation of the first four of the six new Hungarian defense plants listed below: Fidesz MP Attila Gelencsér and Minister of Finance Mihály Varga inspect a Gidrán combat vehicle at the workshop of the University of Óbuda's Smart Industry Science and Innovation Park in Kaposvár 19 March 2022 – Photo: György Varga / MTIProduction has already begun in the two remaining plants but these are not connected to Rheinmetall: Among the Hungarian-owned military companies not producing domestically, we should also mention Aero Vodochody, a small aircraft manufacturer, which was originally a Czech company, and used to belong to now Minister of Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, but was later taken over by MOL leader Zsolt Hernádi. the Austrian Hirtenberger Defence mortar plant was also acquired by the Hungarian state Parts for a wide range of Airbus helicopters – both military and civil rotorcraft are manufactured at the plant in Gyula - the other five factories are only producing equipment for the Hungarian armed forces Decision-makers have repeatedly said that in addition to meeting Hungarian supply needs they would like to export armored vehicles small arms and ammunition produced in Hungary and they occasionally mention that there has been interest in domestically produced military equipment from abroad but no concrete agreement has been reached Gáspár Maróth, who has long coordinated Hungarian defense development, told Portfolio two years ago that in countries which set up their defense industries purely to meet their own needs the financing of the companies involved will become a major headache after a while we are setting up joint ventures with leading players in the market because we clearly expect a return [...] All the public funds that we put into the development of the defense industry were invested with the intention of profit Developing and building a factory takes two to five years and the payback is usually between five and ten years," he said He also mentioned in the 2021 interview that they see a high degree of expansion in the global arms industry and they expect the market to expand markedly devastating war has broken out in Hungary's neighboring country and more and more countries are announcing that they will soon be significantly increasing their military spending by a ratio of one and a half to twice the amount they have spent so far annually Hungarian export prospects may also be helped by the fact that many countries have long neglected their militaries And in the Central and Eastern European region there is still a lot of obsolete technology from the Soviet era which means that there may be a demand for advanced equipment drawing on knowledge from the West Minister of State for Defense Policy and Defense Development speaks at the opening ceremony of the new Airbus factory in Gyula 28 July 2022 – Photo by Tibor Rosta / MTIHowever the image may be somewhat tinted by the fact that in the context of big military procurements the manufacturer often offers the customer the possibility of local production The high-tech elements requiring a really high level of know-how are thus manufactured in the country of the real know-how provider but in order to give the customer a greater sense of ownership of the procurement and the equipment the less complex phase of production is outsourced to the customer paying hundreds or even thousands of billions of forints and has offered to have them assembled there when the Slovakian government announced last year that they would be purchasing 150 infantry fighting vehicles – in other words equipment such as the Lynx which is also produced in Hungary – the Hungarian government was quick to offer to supply them with Hungarian-made Lynxes Rheinmetall also said that if Slovakia chose the Lynx they would build a new assembly and repair plant there Palkovics, who left his ministerial post recently has been appointed head of the state-owned N7 Holding National Defence Industrial Innovation Ltd (N7 Holding Nemzeti Védelmi Ipari Innovációs Zrt) we sent him questions on the main directions of R&D activities in the domestic defense industry For more quick, accurate, and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter!