Hungary's Gripen fighters will join air control operations in Slovenia in line with an agreement signed by Hungarian Defence Minister Csaba Hende and his Slovenian counterpart, Roman Jakic, at the air base of Kecskemét, on Friday.
Italy has been fulfilling this task alone, and once the agreement is ratified, Hungary's air force will join in controlling airspace for Slovenia, which does not have the necessary capacities, Minister Hende stated after the signing. Within NATO's alliance system, Hungary has fourth-generation fighter jets, which is an increasingly important capability today, he emphasised, adding that these planes are suitable for combatting international terrorism and averting the threat of hijacked civilian aircrafts used as weapons. Mr Hende said that if all goes according to plan, Hungary will also get involved in protecting the airspace of the Baltic states.
When Slovenia joined NATO in 2004, it opted to guarantee the security of its airspace in cooperation with its allies rather than purchasing fighter aircraft, Slovenian Minister Jakic noted. After Kecskemét airport was notified of the take-off of Jakic's propeller-driven plane from Ljubljana airport, Hungary alerted its air defence as an exercise. Two Gripens "intercepted" the Slovenian aircraft above western Hungary and escorted it to Kecskemet so as to demonstrate their capability for the mission specified in the agreement. Hungary and Slovenia originally struck an agreement on cooperation in airspace control in 1996. Accordingly, unarmed military aircraft have been allowed to enter each other's airspace if a permit is requested a week in advance and a notification about the actual flight is sent 24 hours in advance. These restrictions will be lifted once the ratification of the new agreement is completed.
(Ministry of Defence)
