The Hungarian army has begun practical re-equipping its armoured units with NATO equipment. On February 28 at the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) plant in Munich, Bavaria, the assembly of 12 repairable Leopard 2A4 tanks began. It is planned that these vehicles will soon be delivered to the Hungarian army training ground near the city of Tata.
The Leopard 2A4 tanks will form a training company to prepare Hungarian tankers to use the latest Leopard 2A7HU tanks purchased by Hungary from Germany. The training process is necessary because the operation and use of the Leopard 2A4 is significantly different from that of the Soviet T-72 tanks, which have been in service in Hungary since 1978.
In December 2018 the Hungarian Ministry of Defence signed a contract with KMW to purchase 44 units of the newest Leopard 2A7HU tanks. Training and logistics are part of the comprehensive contract package. The new vehicles will be in service with the Hungarian army from 2023. Obviously, the 44 Leopard 2A7HU will form a full-fledged tank battalion, the core of a new mechanized brigade equipped with NATO equipment. Apparently, this brigade will include a division of 24 self-propelled guns PzH 2000, the contract for production of which was concluded in December 2018, all with the same KMW. Entry into service is planned for 2022-2023.
Currently, only 15 units of Soviet T-72M1s are in service with the 11th Armoured Battalion of the Hungarian Army. 14 vehicles of this type are listed at the Tatá firing range. 43 units are kept in storage. According to circulating rumors, in 2014 Hungary transferred 80 units of T-72s to Ukraine.