Lieutenant General Zoltán Mihócza
08:02 August 10, 2021Personal data:
Date of birth: 18 March 1962.
Place of birth: Budapest
Marital status: Married, with one child
Education:
1980 - 1986 Minsk Military Academy of Air Defense Missile Engineering, (Minsk, Belarus, USSR), certified radio engineer
1996 - 1997 ADA Officers Advanced Course, El Paso, Texas, USA
2004 - 2005 Air War College, Montgomery, Alabama, USA Master degree – strategic studies
Training Courses Attended:
1999 C-70 Chemical Defense Course, NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany
2000 I-32 Staff Officer Course, NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany
2001 C-29 MJLC Course, NATO School, Oberammergau, Germany
2002 NATO Logistics Course, Aachen, Germany
2007 Senior Leadership Course, George C. Marshall Center, Germany
2008 Defence Policy Course, Defence Academy, UK
2010 GFOAC Senior Leadership Course, NDC, Rome, Italy
Military career:
1986 - 1989 11/7th Air Defense Missile Division, Deputy Commander (Technical), Budapest
1989 - 1992 11th Danube Air Defense Missile Brigade, Maintenance Squadron Commander, Budapest
1992 - 1994 11th Danube Air Defense Missile Brigade, Chief of Maintenance, Budapest
1995 - 1996 11th Danube Air Defense Missile Brigade, Chief of Air Defense Missile Engineering, Budapest
1997 11th Danube Air Defense Missile Brigade, Chief of Military Engineering, Budapest
1998 HDF Meteorological Office, Chief Planning Officer, Budapest
1999 Defense Staff, Military Force Planning Directorate, Modernization Department, Research and Analysis Officer, Budapest
1999 - 2002 NATO Joint Forces Command, Group Headquarters J1/4, Logistics Planning Division, Senior Officer, Verona, Italy
2002 - 2003 MOD-DS, Force Planning Directorate, Modernization Division, Senior Officer in Charge, Budapest
2003 - 2004 MOD-DS, Secretary to the Chief of Integration, Budapest
2005 MOD-DS, Secretary to the Director of the Defense Staff, Budapest
2005 - 2006 MOD- DS, Military Planning General Directorate, NATO and Doctrinal Department, Head of Department, Budapest
2006 - 2010 MOD-DS, Operations and Training Division, Deputy Head of Division, Budapest
2010 - 2011 MOD-DS, Force Planning Directorate, Director, Budapest
2011 - 2013 HDF Office of the Military Representative, Military Representative, Brussels, Belgium
2013 - 2016 HDF Joint Forces Command, Acting Commander, Székesfehérvár
2015 - 2016 EUFOR, Chief of Staff, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2016 - 2018 HDF Joint Forces Command, Chief of Staff, Székesfehérvár
2018 HDF Joint Forces Command, Acting Commander, Székesfehérvár
2019 - Headquarters of the Hungarian Defense Forces, Chief of Staff
Participation in operations:
2000 - 2001 KFOR HQ Pristina, Kosovo
2015 - 2016 EUFOR, Chief of Staff, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Honours:
1994 Officer Service Medal 3rd Class (10 years)
2001 NATO Kosovo Medal 2002 Service Medal for Peacekeeping
2003 Service Medal, bronze grade
2003 Officer's Service Medal 2nd Class (20 years)
2004 NATO Service Medal 2005 Service Medal gold grade
2008 Service Medal decorated with Laurel Wreath
2010 Officer's Service Medal 1st Class (30 years )
2013 NATO Service Medal
2015 Hungarian Cross of the Order of Merit, military section
2016 EU CSDP Service Medal
2017 Migration Crisis Management Service Badge
2018 US Air Force Command Staff College, International Hall of Fame Member
2019 Gyula Sipos Award of the City of Székesfehérvár
Language skills:
English: STANAG 6001 4.4.4.4
Russian: advanced level, military interpreter
In the Lead Nation Role on Exercise Safety Fuel 2026
16:52 June 24, 2026
Exercise Safety Fuel 2026 was planned and directed under Hungarian lead. This year, the main focus of the activities was on fielding the joint Bulk Fuel Installations (BFI) and on the complex tasks relating to them.
Hungarian troops’ equipment arrives home from Estonia aboard giant airlifter
15:00 June 24, 2026
After two weeks of intensive work on difficult terrain, NATO’s international military medicine Exercise Vigorous Warrior 2026 ended in Estonia. The Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft transporting to Budapest the medical and field equipment of the Hungarian Defence Forces used in the Baltic state made two turns and so it landed at Liszt Ferenc International Airport on June 21 and 22. A prepared convoy of the Hungarian Defence Forces was awaiting for the cargo, so that it can return the items of equipment to the HDF Medical Center after unloading. On June 21, the Hungarian service members participating in the exercise also arrived in Kecskemét, Hungary aboard an Airbus A319 of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
Guest stars in Kecskemét
12:10 June 24, 2026
On June 23, traffic was busy at the HDF 101st Aviation Wing. Two new JAS 39 Gripens arrived to their permanent home base, and besides, some special “dinner guests” came along to visit the airbase. A Northrop F-5A fighter aircraft and an Airbus A400M Atlas giant airlifter of The Turkish Stars – the aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force – landed on the runway for refueling. En route to their destinations in Germany and Belgium, the members of the world’s largest aerobatic team equipped with supersonic fighters thanked their hosts in Kecskemét for their hospitality by performing a short demo flight.
The Fleet is Complete
12:01 June 24, 2026
With the completion of the Hungarian Defence Forces fighter aircraft fleet, already 18 armed JAS 39 Gripens safeguard Hungary’s and NATO’s airspace. “Our Gripens protect not only the Hungarian sky” – said MoD Parliamentary State Secretary László Kürtös at the reception ceremony of the last two assets of the fleet on June 23.
Safe command and control
10:56 June 24, 2026
Signal specialist assigned to the 34th rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent has successfully deployed and tested a mobile high-frequency (HF) radio station in the field.
Perfecting Quick Reaction
11:50 June 23, 2026
The third week of the 35th rotation of the HDF KFOR Contingent’s pre-deployment training was eventful like the previous ones. Marksmanship, driving technique and Crowd and Riot Control (CRC) training sessions continue to be an integral part of the service members’ daily training program, and through accomplishing them, every day they get closer to their successful service with the mission in Kosovo.
Students of Pakistani National Defence University visit Ministry of Defence
11:00 June 23, 2026
A study group from the general staff training course of the Pakistani University of National Defence attended information lectures at the Ministry of Defence of Hungary on June 22. The delegation was welcomed by Brigadier General Zoltán Berec, Force Planning Chief, HDF Defence Staff.
More than a jump…
12:19 June 22, 2026
Together with their comrades coming from further units, he soldiers of the HDF Special Operations Command executed jumps with ram-air parachutes at an altitude of 3000 meters from the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft of the Pápa-based Heavy Airlift Wing to the landing zone designated at Szolnok–Szandaszőlős Airport. Parachute jumps are very important during special operations, and because the Special Operations Forces (SOF) can rarely practice them from one of NATO’s most significant strategic airlifters, this airborne training provided them with a highly valuable opportunity for capability development on the international level.
VW2026 – Modern technologies in military medicine
10:35 June 22, 2026
Smoke, uncertainty and long silence. The injured are waiting for the military doctors, who are slowly and cautiously approaching a simulated site of the multinational Exercise Vigorous Warrior 2026.
Precision strikes – a guarantee of deterrence and success
15:21 June 19, 2026
“NATO considers the development of its Deep Precision Strike capabilities one of its most important tasks for the coming years” – this is how General Zsolt Sándor, Chief of HDF Defence Staff summed up the primary message of a symposium held with the participation of military leaders of the North Atlantic Alliance held in Mons, Belgium. In his opinion, the conclusions of the meeting are of key significance for the further operational planning and capability development tasks of the Hungarian Defence Forces.