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HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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24th June, 2026
Hungary expands Gripen fleet
Four additional Gripen C fighters were added to the Hungarian Air Force at a ceremony in Kecskemét on Tuesday, the fruit of a Swedish-Hungarian agreement signed in February 2024.
The contract for the four new aircraft was concluded a few days before the Fidesz-led parliament finally agreed to allow Sweden to join NATO after a long delay with no explanation.
The new deliveries will boost Hungary’s Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D fleet to 18 aircraft.
According to deputy defence minister László Antal Kürtös, the Gripen system is now set to remain in service at least until 2036.
The event was attended by the Swedish ambassador Diana Madunic, as well as Saab vice-president Lars Tossman.
First delivered in 2006, the Gripen fleet has been central not only to Hungary’s airspace protection duties but also to NATO air policing missions in the Baltics and in several regional allied states, including Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia.
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Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
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