Defense Talks in Washington Open Door to Deeper Military Ties

Hungarian and American commandos at this year’s international Adaptive Hussars exercise in Hungary

Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of General Staff of the Hungarian Defense Forces, and General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, discussed global conflicts and the deepening of Hungarian-American military cooperation on October 20 in Washington.

Colonel General Gábor Böröndi told MTI that, in his opinion, dialogue had become much more open in the changed atmosphere of bilateral political relations. The discussion also covered training and preparation issues, developments in the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the situation in the Balkan region, he added. He said that the question of how Hungary could contribute to future operations in Gaza was also raised.

Gábor Böröndi believes that the meeting confirmed that the peace summit announced last week in Budapest had put Hungary “on the world map” and on the map of the United States. He said that a common goal was to develop a closer partnership in the military sphere.

The expansion of cooperation could build on the joint preparations and exercises currently underway,

he added.

The colonel general said that the partnership could also be strengthened by building on the experiences of the recent international military exercise, Adaptive Hussars 2025, held in Hungary with U.S. participation. He considered the areas of drone defense, cyber defense, operational planning, and the study of artificial intelligence to be of particular importance for the development of cooperation.

Colonel General Gábor Böröndi (R) with General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States. Photo: Honvedelem.hu

He informed Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the process of transforming the Hungarian Defense Forces.

In this regard, he outlined to his American colleague that the ongoing Hungarian reform prioritizes training, equipping soldiers, introducing new military technology, and placing special emphasis on the quality of training and discipline.

Gábor Böröndi also met with the leadership of the National Defense University, the elite training center of the United States Army, in Washington, D.C., where they discussed global security challenges and the principles of American strategic thinking. Two Hungarian officers are currently studying at the National Defense University in the U.S. capital, the colonel general said, noting that he himself had previously spent a year as a student at the institution.

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