The Hungarian Defence Force has received three new Leopard 2A7HU tanks at a handover ceremony in northwestern Hungary, increasing its fleet size to eight.
The tanks are set to join the army’s Klapka György 1st Armored Brigade stationed in Tata, near the Hungary-Slovakia border.
Hungary is significantly increasing its armored vehicle fleet, expecting to receive 36 more Leopard tanks, five Wisent 2HU recovery vehicles, and three Leguan 2HU bridge-launching combat tanks by 2028.
Leopard 2 at Its Best
Considered the most modern variant of the Krauss-Maffei Leopard 2 tank, the 2A7HU can operate in low- and high-intensity conflicts, utilizing programmable high explosives for offense and incorporating modular armor for defense.
Its Rheinmetall 120mm gun can accurately hit targets 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away.
A 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, 12.7mm remote-controlled machine gun, and 76mm smoke grenade dischargers round out its firepower.
Hungary’s Growing Defense
Hungary’s increased investment in updating its defenses is due in part to Budapest’s desire to contribute more to NATO’s defense programs.
In 2018, the country ordered 44 Leopard 2A7HU tanks and 24 self-propelled howitzers from arms manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The contract was estimated at around 160 billion forint ($565 million).
The Leopard fleet is set to replace its T-72M1 counterparts, some of which have been in the force since the 1970s.