• Home
• Channel: Current Affairs
• Hungarian Gripens to Again Police One of "Most Sensitive Airspaces in Europe"

Hungarian Gripens to Again Police One of "Most Sensitive Airspaces in Europe"

• 1 Aug 2022 10:26 AM
• Hungary Matters

Hungarian Gripen fighter jets will police Baltic airspace for a third time starting next month, the defence ministry said on Friday.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the defence minister, told a ceremony at Siauliai Airbase in Lithuania that Baltic airspace policing was both a “huge responsibility and an honour”.

He said the NATO air patrols played a major role in maintaining the security of the citizens of the Baltic states. In light of the war in Ukraine, Baltic airspace “has become among the most sensitive airspaces in Europe,” he added.

“I thank the citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for trusting us Hungarians to protect their national airspaces at such a sensitive moment,” the minister said.

The NATO airspace policing mission has operated since 2004.

Hungary’s four Gripen aircraft served by 50 Hungarian armed forces personnel will serve together with the air forces of Germany and Italy as the lead nation from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30 from the base in Lithuania.


MTI photo

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Gripens Airspace

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

Why Counterterrorism Alert Level Raised in Hungary

• 2 Mar 2026 6:24 AM

The Defence Council convened on Saturday and raised the counterterrorism alert level by one step, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Facebook.



Watch: 'Stop BullSh**ting' - Hungary Tears Into Zelensky After Drone Allegations

• 1 Oct 2025 12:15 PM

Tensions between Ukraine and Hungary have escalated dramatically. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Hungary of violating Ukrainian airspace with reconnaissance drones, suggesting a potential "spy mission" on Ukraine's border industrial areas.



Updated: More Ukrainian Spies Identified by Hungarian National Security Services

• 21 May 2025 7:15 AM

The national security services have identified more Ukrainian spies, including Roland Tseber as an "illegal" officer of the Ukrainian intelligence service, and Istvan Hollo, who is under investigation by the National Office of Investigation on the suspicion of espionage activities, ruling Fidesz's parliamentary group leader said after a meeting of the national security committee.



Hungarians & Foreigners Leave Lebanon on Army Aircraft from Hungary

• 2 Aug 2024 7:01 AM

The foreign ministry has contacted 165 Hungarian citizens living in Lebanon and offered them help to leave in the wake of a recent escalation of events in the Middle East; 18 Hungarian citizens and their family members are returning to Hungary in a joint operation with the defence ministry, the foreign minister said.