Hungary to produce combat drones with Israel, Germany companies

Hungary has signed an agreement with Israeli and German companies to jointly manufacture combat drones, as the central European country seeks to further advance its defence industry.

At the opening ceremony of a new combat vehicle factory in Zalaegerszeg in south-west Hungary, Hungarian president Viktor Orban announced that the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are to be produced in cooperation with Israeli defence technology company UVision and an unspecified German company.

“If I heard about a country that produces and develops military technology together with Germans and Israelis, I would think twice about messing with them, and that’s good news for every Hungarian,” Orban stated at the ceremony.

The Zalaegerszeg factory, which opened on Friday, is mostly owned by the German military technology company Rheinmetall, but a 49 per cent stake is owned by the Hungarian government. that investment is a direct effort by Budapest to advance the modernisation of its military and increase the production of military equipment.

In that goal of building up Hungary’s defence industry, with Orban highlighting an Airbus factory which opened last year in the country, and which produces components for modern combat helicopters.  He also pointed to the acquisition of Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody by a Hungarian company in 2021.

The partnership with the Israeli company is the latest result of the strong relationship Orban’s government has with the occupation state, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having described Orban as a “true friend of Israel” back in 2018.

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