The first C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to arrive in Hungary – part of NATO’s Strategic Transportation Fleet – was presented to the media at the Pápa military airfield on Monday.
Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres and NATO deputy secretary general Claudio Bisogniero were present.
Bajnai said it is a historic achievement that 12 countries worked together to finance the acquisition and operation of the military air transportation fleet in the Strategic Airlift Capability programme. The group comprises NATO members Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the US, along with Partnership for Peace countries Finland and Sweden.
Hungary’s annual contribution to the project is expected to total Ft 1 billion. Hungary will use the aircraft for missions to Afghanistan, the Sinai Peninsula and Cyprus, Szekeres said, adding that the project has created 300 jobs in the area. The Globemaster III will be joined by two others in the autumn.
Bajnai noted that Hungary has a key role in this, the biggest NATO project in 40 years. US General Richard C. Johnson said this was one of the fastest NATO projects to be implemented, as it was launched in less than three years.
In addition, the Hungarian and Canadian governments have opened negotiations on having four Canadian C-17s use the air base.
Soldiers, combat vehicles and humanitarian aid will be flown on the heavy transport planes, primarily to remote countries, even amid warlike conditions.
Great! Excellent choice! Canadian C-17s.
Has anyone heard of the Canadian military’s might? Breathtaking! I guess Hungary’s communist/jewish regime doesn’t advertize the hardware it purchased from Israel for domestic use to quell demonstrators.