Hungarian Defence Forces exercising with US, NATO and regional partners
Text: Ministry of Defence | Photo: archives | 16:24 May 13, 2026“This week the Hungarian Defence Forces are conducting training events together with foreign partners on multiple locations around Hungary in the interest of developing joint operational and reaction capabilities” – said Chief of HDF Defence Staff General Dr. Gábor Böröndi. The general told us that hundreds of Hungarian servicemembers were exercising together with their Italian, American, Slovak, Slovenian and Serbian comrades during these training events organized within NATO and bilateral frameworks.
Between 11-14 May, the subunits of the Hungary-based NATO Forward Land Force Battle Group (FLF BG) are exercising air assault operations, helicopter gunnery and the control of and call for artillery fire day and night. With the help of floating bridge elements, the participants cross crater obstacles on road sections, and also execute CBRN decontamination tasks. Their training culminates in company-level live firing exercises on the Central Shooting Range and Training Area in the Bakony Hills.
Under the name “Szentes Castle”, nominated personnel of the HDF 14th Engineer Regiment and the 16th Engineer Brigade of the Ohio National Guard are conducting joint training between 4 and 15 May. The Hungarian and American soldiers are to practice wet gap crossing on River Danube, and besides the LFXs, they learn the basics of fortification and acquire techniques of water purification. As the next step of cooperation, between 1-12 June the army engineers of Szentes will travel to the USA to continue the joint engineer training together with the personnel of the Ohio National Guard.
Early in the week, the two training events – Exercise Szentes Castle and the activity of the Hungarian-led NATO FLF BG – were interlinked for a day. En route to the Bakony Hills, the backbone of the battle group, namely the soldiers of the Hódmezővásárhely-based mechanized infantry brigade used their BTRs and then Lynx infantry fighting vehicles for wet gap crossing on the southern reach of River Danube, together with the Croatian MRAP infantry mobility vehicles and Italian armored Centauro tank destroyers arriving from Camp Újmajor. The ferries were provided by the Szentes and the American army engineers.
Concurrently, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovenian and American SOF troops are conducting joint operations as part of SOF Exercise “Trojan Footprint 2026” in the area of Hungary. Running between 11-21 May, the US-led exercise involves NATO member states and partner countries around Europe with the objective of strengthening the security of the continent.
Within the framework of bilateral military cooperation, this week Hungary and Serbia are going to conduct a two-day air search and rescue (SAR) exercise with one Hungarian and two Serbian H145M helicopters, which contributes to strengthening reaction capabilities and deepening professional cooperation.
The chief of defence recalled that Hungary regularly receives requests for supporting regional disaster management operations, so the close professional cooperation and the joint training with neighboring countries are especially important. These exercises contribute to familiarization with each other’s procedures, the development of personal professional relations and the sharing of lessons learned” – said General Dr. Gábor Böröndi.
