Croatian-Hungarian Military Logistics Cooperation About to Begin

Brigadier General Tibor Szabó, Chief of the HDF Defence Staff Logistics Directorate, received Brigadier General Jozo Matković, Chief of the Croatian General Staff Logistics Directorate, on 25 February. The chief of the directorate said about the meeting held at the HDF Joint Operations Command that although they knew that the Croatian Armed Forces face military challenges similar to those of the HDF, they discovered more mutual points than expected during the discussions. Following the discussions, the Croatian delegation also visited the HDF 1st Armoured Brigade in Tata.

“They were most interested in the details of operating the Leopard main battle tanks as they are planning to purchase a number of state-of-the-art 2A8 variants. We shared with them the lessons learned during the past years and then we introduced them to the installations related to the servicing of the equipment and related standard operating procedures within the framework of a site visit”, said Brigadier General Tibor Szabó after the site visit.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Dezső Károlyi, procuring a piece of equipment in itself never equals a capability; the latter is made up of more components. Therefore, in his speech, the logistics chief of the HDF 1st Armoured Brigade talked about the organizational changes following the commissioning of Leopards, the prioritized training, the expectations for the personnel, the procurement of the materials and equipment required for the tanks and the related infrastructural investments. The Croatian delegation was shown around the Leopard repair facility and the PzH hall, where the equipment is maintained in Tata.

“Although the simulation centre is not a logistic installation, we found it important to show that as well because its operation is related to our tasks. The preparation with simulators makes training more economical and slows down the wear of the equipment”, said Lieutenant Colonel Dezső Károlyi. The parties emphasized that the visit in February was the first main step in a long-term cooperation. From now on, the two delegations are scheduled to meet twice a year to learn about each other’s armed forces development tasks and standard operating procedures related to logistic support, as well as the current challenges. The discussions will be continued in Croatia in the second half of the year.