Hungary eyes Iron Dome, as new air defense radars are on the way

MILAN, Italy — Hungarian official have signaled an interest in the Israel-made Iron Dome system, with radar components expected to arrive early next year that could fit into the air-defense weapon’s architecture.

Hungarian President Katalin Novák and Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky watched an Iron Dome system demonstration during their visit in Tel Aviv, the Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement earlier this month. Following their visit, the officials told reporters that the air defense system is worth studying for Hungary, especially in light of the recent missile incident in Poland.

In what could be considered steps towards such an acquisition, the Hungarian Armed Forces (HAF) two years ago signed a contract with Rheinmetall Canada for the supply of several multi-mission ELMA-2084 radars produced by its partner ELTA, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The systems will replace Hungary’s Soviet-era P-37, PRV-17 and ST-68U radars.

The ELMA-2084 is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designed to detect and track medium-range ballistic projectiles and aircraft threats, providing operators with early-warning and fire control guidance for their interception. More importantly, it also happens to be one of the three central components of the Iron Dome, which is said to have also been purchased by Canada, Singapore, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

President and CEO of Rheinmetall Canada, Stéphane Oehrli hinted at possible plans of establishing an assembly or manufacturing plant for radars in Hungary at the time, stating that “in terms of technology transfer, our Hungarian partners also stand to benefit [in the future] from this project.”

Hungary is the company’s most important export customer in the field of radar system integration. Rheinmetall already operates a 150-hectare munition production plant in Varpalota which supplies ammunition to the HAF and another factory in western Hungary producing part of the Lynx KF41 combat vehicles on order.

Despite reports that deliveries of the first ELMA-2084 radars had begun, Alain Tremblay, vice president of business development at Rheinmetall Canada, told Defense News that “the pandemic and conflict in Ukraine have caused some small delays, the first radar will be delivered in the second quarter of 2023.”

Hungary’s defense spending is expected to reach $2.9 billion in 2022, with the country pledging to spend 2% of its GDP on defense by 2026 as part of its Zrínyi defense and force development program.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

意大利米兰——匈牙利官员已表示对以色列制造的“铁穹”系统感兴趣，预计雷达组件将于明年初到货，这些组件可以安装到该防空武器的架构中。

匈牙利国防部本月初发表声明称，匈牙利总统卡塔琳·诺瓦克和国防部长克里斯托夫·萨莱-博布罗夫尼茨基在访问特拉维夫期间观看了“铁穹”防空系统的演示。访问结束后，两位官员告诉记者，鉴于近期波兰发生的导弹袭击事件，匈牙利值得研究这套防空系统。

两年前，匈牙利武装部队（HAF）与莱茵金属加拿大公司签署了一份合同，采购由其合作伙伴以色列航空航天工业公司（IAI）子公司ELTA生产的数部ELMA-2084多用途雷达。此举可被视为匈牙利采购此类雷达的初步举措。这些雷达系统将取代匈牙利现役的苏联时代P-37、PRV-17和ST-68U雷达。

ELMA-2084 是一款有源相控阵雷达（AESA），旨在探测和跟踪中程弹道导弹和飞机威胁，为操作人员提供预警和火控指导，以便进行拦截。更重要的是，它还是“铁穹”防御系统的三大核心组件之一，据说加拿大、新加坡、捷克和斯洛伐克也采购了该系统。

莱茵金属加拿大公司总裁兼首席执行官斯特凡·厄尔利当时暗示，公司可能计划在匈牙利建立雷达组装或制造工厂，并表示“就技术转让而言，我们的匈牙利合作伙伴未来也将从这个项目中受益”。

匈牙利是该公司在雷达系统集成领域最重要的出口客户。莱茵金属公司在瓦尔帕洛塔已经运营着一家占地150公顷的弹药生产厂，为匈牙利空军供应弹药；此外，该公司还在匈牙利西部拥有一家工厂，按订单生产Lynx KF41战斗车辆的部分部件。

尽管有报道称首批 ELMA-2084 雷达已开始交付，但莱茵金属加拿大公司业务发展副总裁 Alain Tremblay 告诉《防务新闻》，“疫情和乌克兰冲突造成了一些小的延误，第一部雷达将于 2023 年第二季度交付。”

预计到 2022 年，匈牙利的国防开支将达到 29 亿美元。作为其“Zrínyi”国防和部队发展计划的一部分，匈牙利承诺到 2026 年将国内生产总值的 2% 用于国防。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。