In an end-year interview to Hungarian News Agency MTI, Minister Hende said on Sunday that the ministry was working on plans to maintain helicopter capabilities and resolving the situation of military cargo planes, which will be among the most important defence tasks of 2013.

He added that the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) would be withdrawn permanently from Afghanistan in spring 2013, but training and consultation tasks would continue in the country.

"A major chapter of Hungary's role [in Afghanistan] will be closed; the PRT had carried out its duties successfully, contributing to the development of Baghlan province and the improvement of the living standards of local residents," he said, adding that the Military Advisory Team (MAT, earlier OMLT) will move to Mazar-i-Sarif with an updated programme of operation.

As of January 1, 2013, a new and important military task would be water transport, the Minister pointed out, to help hundreds of thousands of Hungarians living in arsenic-contaminated areas to drinking water. The production of new water cleaning equipment to help the mission has started, he said.

Minister Hende stated that the military is working on increasing its voluntary reserve unit, which should reach a limit of 8 000 men assigned by Parliament by 2014. He also mentioned it as a success that Hungary extended a lease on Gripen fighter jets for another ten years until 2026, spending half of what it had over the past ten years.

He added that the site of a third 3D locator had been chosen, the village of Medina had accepted the construction of the NATO air defence radar base and the foundation stone had been laid in October 2012.

Talking about Hungarian-developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Minister Hende highlighted that drones have helped complete reconnaissance, disaster-control and rescue missions in 2012.

Source: kormany.hu