For most domestic journalists, armaments technology is either a closed book or a “no go”, so it is hardly surprising that highly astonishing inaccuracies are repeatedly published and remain unreported in the red-white-red press.
This is what happened today in the Kronen Zeitung, for example, under the headline “Biggest deal to date: Hungary buys US missiles for one billion dollars” reported that Hungarian President Viktor Orban, who is often described as an EU outlaw, had ordered medium-range missiles from the USA for 850 million euros. This is of course not true, as the term refers to conventional/nuclear ground-to-ground ballistic missiles with a range of up to 5,000 kilometers. With all the framing around Mr. Orban, who should Budapest be aiming these at? A little Googling and reading up on the subject of the START treaties and the talks currently taking place in Vienna on a “New START” between the USA and Russia and China, which is not present (Military News reported) would have shed some light on this. What Hungary has ordered, and what has never even been considered in Austria since 1955 for object protection or for the protection of key zones or objects, is the renewal of more extensive ground-based air defense. This refers to “simple” air defense missiles (SAMs – Surface to Air Missiles). The Swiss once had the huge British Bloodhound missiles (one of which is on display as a museum site preserved as a museum site) and now want to recover this component as part of the “Air2030” project under the name BODLUV.
Like a number of other countries, Hungary opted for the Norwegian system NASAMS from the Norwegian company Kongsberg (report by Defensenews) to replace its Russian air defense systems from the Warsaw Pact era – and this is equipped with ground-launched versions of Raytheon’s AIM-120 C7/C8 AMRAAM-ER BVR (over-the-horizon) air-to-air missile. The same applies to the Hungarian JAS-39C/D Gripen, which is equipped with the AMRAAM C6/C7, a component that is coyly referred to as an “all-weather radar guided weapon” in this country in order to avoid making too much of an offensive issue of its range of up to 100 kilometers. What would actually complete the Eurofighter was in fact already “on the table” here. In the old – later “compared” – contract, four AIM-120 AMRAAMs were planned just to be part of the “AMRAAM club”, as the former Austrian air chief Erich Wolf told the author. Like many other aspects, these four fell victim to the price being pushed below 2 billion euros. But as far as Hungary’s actual procurement is concerned, here the report from the DSCA at the Pentagon with all the important details and information.
Update from August 19, 2020
As an illustration of what makes both aircraft and ground-based air defense systems functional, the FMS missile package for Hungary was officially signed and detailed on August 12 in Budapest by Defense Minister Tibor Benkö and US Ambassador David Cornstein. According to two separate notifications to Congress, Hungary will receive 180 AIM-120C7 AMRAAM BVR air-to-air missiles (for the JAS-39 Gripen and possibly its successor) for just under 500 million euros and 60 AIM-120C-7/C-8 missiles for just over 200 million euros as the effective body of the ground-based NASAMS air defense system. In a third, direct commercial order, the AN/MPQ-64F1 Improved Sentinel radar from Raytheon will also be procured (further information in the report).
