The fighter jets of the Hungarian Defence Forces flew two sorties on the same day in Slovenian airspace, during which the Hungarian Gripen pilots intercepted and identified two aircrafts above Slovenia.

As part of its commitments in NATO, Hungary has been partnering with Italy to carry out air policing duties in Slovenian airspace since October 4, 2014. The missions are flown from Kecskemét Air Base, Hungary.

DownloadPhoto: honvedelem.hu

In the near future, as a further NATO task, Hungary will participate in the Baltic Air Policing mission for four months as of September 2015. With these commitments, Hungary is among those NATO member states that are able to deploy their air forces beyond the borders of their country. Starting from January 1, 2016, the Hungarian Gripen fighters will provide close air support (CAS) capability in the European Union Battle Group of the Visegrád Four countries that will be on standby for the EU for six months. 

The Gripens conduct uninterrupted air policing in Hungarian and Slovenian airspaces while the pilots are continuously being trained for the undertaken international tasks.

(Ministry of Defence)