Brunssum, the Netherlands – Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS), General Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta, visited NATO’s Eastern flank in Hungary on 29 September 2022.
In Hungary and across all geographic areas of Northern Europe, our defensive Alliance is shifting its efforts from reacting to crises to deterring crises
During his visit, General Miglietta met with Lieutenant General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, Chief of Defence of Hungary, with whom he discussed deterrence and defence. “In Hungary and across all geographic areas of Northern Europe, our defensive Alliance is shifting its efforts from reacting to crises to deterring crises. It is the essence of the “Deter and Defend” concept, which also enhances the speed and effectiveness of our rapidly deployable forces.”
A NATO member since 1999, the Alliance’s presence in Hungary is significant. Based in Tata, Multinational Battlegroup Hungary is a NATO formation consisting of around a thousand soldiers from Hungary, Italy, Türkiye and Croatia. From 19th to 30th September, the Battlegroup took part in Exercise Brave Warrior 22, and was declared fully operational after demonstrating its capability to successfully plan and conduct operations alongside Allies and Partners.
Also, Hungary is hosting Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (MND-C), located in Szekesfehérvár. MND-C is a NATO HQ designed to be capable of commanding a division-sized force (some 20,000 soldiers). Founded in the wake of Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the HQ is fast approaching its full operational capability. Once achieved, it will execute Command & Control (C2) over NATO’s units.
Finally, along with seven other countries in the region, Hungary hosts a long-established NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU). Its role is to facilitate a rapid deployment of additional forces in the region if needed. NFIUs work closely with the Host Nation to identify logistical networks, transportation nodes and supporting infrastructure that would enable a NATO high-readiness force to deploy to and operate in an assigned region as quickly as possible.
