Major General Zoltán Somogyi
15:53 July 18, 2023Brigadier General Zoltán Somogyi was born on 27th February 1974 in Fehérgyarmat. He began his military service in August 1992 at the Military Command Collage in Szentendre. He graduated as an artillery officer with a BSc in Land Surveying Engineering in 1996. He served 8 years in a various artillery officer assignments including 4 years as Battery Commander within the HDF 5th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 5th Self Propelled Artillery Battalion in Debrecen. During his artillery officer carrier, he successfully completed the Battery Commander Course of the German Bundeswehr and gathered experiences also in the field of rocket artillery. In 2003 he was deployed to the position of the 2nd Company Commander of the Hungarian Guard and Security Battalion, KFOR Kosovo and in 2004 he assumed command of the Hungarian Guard and Security Contingent, KFOR Skopje.
In 2007, he was appointed to the position of Hungarian Joint Force Command J3 Staff Officer in Székesfehérvár and he was promoted to Major. In 2009, he was assigned as a Liaison Officer to the German Operations Command in Potsdam and to the German MOD Planning Staff in Berlin focused on Hungarian contribution to ISAF operation. In 2010, he graduated from the National Defense University with MSc degree in Military Leadership. In 2012 he graduated the 7th German National Joint Admiral and General Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command & Staff Collage in Hamburg. Following that, he was appointed to the position of the Military Assistant to the Chief of Land Forces of the Hungarian Joint Force Command and he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the Head of Combat Support Branch G3 HDF JFC.
During this assignment in 2013-2014 he was deployed for seven months to Afghanistan as a senior advisor and head of a brigade level advisory team. In 2016, he was assigned to the position of Chief G37 HDF Joint Force Command. In 2017, his next appointment was at HDF JFC where he held the post of Chief J3/ACOS Operations and was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
From August 2018 he started and led the planning project of Headquarters Multinational Division Centre. He was appointed to Chief of Staff of the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre on 01 June 2020 and he was promoted to his current rank on the 20th of August 2020.
12 May 2022 – 17 May 2023 he served as Chief of Staff of EUFOR Force HQ in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Since 15 July 2023 he has been assuming the position Director of the General Staff Hungarian Defence Forces.
He is married to his wife Beatrix and lives in Várpalota.
Arrival of new H225M helicopters is a milestone in armed forces development
15:12 July 25, 2023
On Monday, 24 July, two new Airbus H225M helicopters of the Hungarian Defence Forces were transferred in a ceremony held in Szolnok.
Nándorfehérvár victory commemorated in Belgrade
15:07 July 25, 2023
On 21 July, on the occasion of the 567th anniversary of the Nándorfehérvár victory, a commemorative event was held in Belgrade in the organization of the Hungarian embassy and Belgrade municipal branch of the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (AVH). During the commemoration, József Magyar, Hungary’s ambassador to Belgrade, Deputy Attaché Major Attila Veres and the invitees laid wreaths at the memorial in the Belgrade Fortress and at John Hunyadi’s statue in Zemun.
Five-year contract extension signed on Hungaroring
12:44 July 25, 2023
The Hungaroring will surely be one of the venues kept on the Formula-1 calendar until 2032, as a five-year contract extension was signed on Saturday during the race weekend of the 38th Hungarian Grand Prix at Mogyoród.
Live fire exercise for reservists in Táborfalva
12:35 July 25, 2023
Close to 600 Hungarian, Polish and American reservists are participating in Exercise “Moonstar 2023” on the Táborfalva military training area of the HDF Joint Forces Training Centre. The large-scale joint training event was also visited by Lieutenant General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF General Staff and CSM Zoltán Kaszab, Command Sergeant Major, Hungarian Defence Forces.
Hungarian staff officer receives Alliance award
12:32 July 25, 2023
General Chris Badia, NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation recently awarded a Certificate of Commendation to Lieutenant Colonel Ferenc Pásztor for his distinctive accomplishments.
Hungary is an important player on NATO’s eastern flank
10:00 July 25, 2023
According to Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, NATO’s new defence posture makes Hungary an indispensable player in strengthening the eastern flank, partly because of its geographical position and partly because of the magnitude and speed of the development of its armed forces.
First two H225M helicopters arrive in Szolnok
11:21 July 18, 2023
On Monday, 17 July the first two Airbus H225M helicopters arrived at the Szolnok airbase of the HDF 86th Helicopter Wing. The Hungarian Defence Forces have placed an order for altogether 16 H225M medium-lift helicopters in the framework of the armed forces development program.
Neptune Strike 2023
11:55 July 17, 2023
Drawing significant international attention, the NATO Vigilance Activity Neptune Strike that commenced in February continued on 14 July, with the land supporting element being provided by the HDF 1st Special Operations Brigade.
“Hungary must not plunge into the war!”
11:50 July 17, 2023
Hungary and NATO must not plunge into the war in Ukraine – stated Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky in the program “Vasárnapi újság” (Sunday News) of Kossuth Radio on 16 July.
The biggest defence industry companies are interested in Hungary
09:33 July 13, 2023
On Wednesday, 12 July, Ministerial Commissioner for Defence Innovation Brigadier General Dr. Imre Porkoláb spoke about the importance of air defence and the current stage of the development of the armed forces in the program “Ma reggel” (Today morning) of Hungarian TV channel M1, in connection with the debut of the Hungarian-developed ProTAR Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system early this week. According to the brigadier general, the new technology significantly reduces the costs of training.