Future Artillery 2025: Hungary re-establishes joint fire capabilities

The German Army trained Hungarian artillery personnel on the PzH 2000 at the beginning of the decade. (Bundeswehr/Mario Hönig)

Hungary's plans to re-establish joint fires and other military capabilities were presented at Defence iQ's Future Artillery 2025 conference held in London from 20 to 22 May. Since 2017 Hungary has been developing artillery, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), mortar, and loitering munition (LM) capabilities, as well as joint fires knowledge and staff.

Between 1990 and 2004 Hungary phased out 691 artillery pieces, mortars, multiple rocket launchers (MRLs), and surface-to-surface missiles; 126 fixed- and 48 rotary-wing aircraft; and the units, command structure, knowledge, and skills to operate them. This left Hungary with only a D-20 towed artillery battalion and Mi-24 helicopters between 2004 and 2016, although it did lease JAS-39 Gripen combat aircraft from Sweden during that time.

Hungary has been rectifying this since 2004 with the procurement of Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPHs); large numbers of UAVs; Hirtenberger 81 mm and 120 mm mortars; and Hero 30, 320, and 400 LMs. Starting in 2026 Hungary plans to procure a battalion of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) with a range of 300 km, a battalion of wheeled SPHs, Lynx 120 mm self-propelled mortar systems, small- and medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs, and four more Gripens.

The first HIMARS battery will be part of Hungary's PzH 2000 artillery battalion until a second HIMARS battery allows an entire MRL battalion to be formed. Hero LMs will be part of the HIMARS units, in addition to arming Lynx infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).

For more information, please see IAV 2024: Hungary arms its Lynx IFVs with Hero loitering munitions .