The defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Hungary has taken delivery of the first of 44 Leopard 2A7 battle tanks it has procured.
Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the first five Leopard 2A7s are expected to be delivered to Hungary in the coming days. He called the delivery of the new tanks a milestone in Hungary’s military upgrade programme that would “propel the Hungarian Armed Forces into the 21st century”. The Leopard fleet will be completed by 2025 and will also include Leguan bridge-laying tanks and armoured recovery vehicles, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. The replacement of Hungary’s Soviet-made vehicles with more modern ones is aided by cooperation with Germany’s KNDS Group, the minister said, noting that Hungary and the company’s leadership on additional services, simulations and maintenance. This cooperation, he said, guaranteed that the Hungarian Armed Forces were not just getting new equipment “but an excellent quality fleet” which the German manufacturer will be supporting with important services. The new Leopard tanks will be officially inaugurated on Dec 14 in Tata, in northern Hungary.