Hungary To Sell Soviet Military Hardware

Hungary announced Monday plans to sell off its old Soviet-made tanks and fighter planes, saying they were in “very good condition” but expensive to maintain.

Zoltan Borbiro, state secretary for the defense ministry, said MIG 29 fighter jets and T-72 tanks, military equipment and clothing would all be up for sale later this year.

“Since Hungary’s transition from communism in 1990, the army has been organized on a professional and modern basis, and a part of our military inventory is no longer compatible with NATO requirements,” he said.

“It won’t be an easy sale,” he admitted.

Hungary scrapped conscription in 2004 and now maintains an army of some 19,000 soldiers, down from around 140,000 during the Warsaw Pact era.

Hungary sold 77 of its stock of 180 T-72 tanks to the newly formed Iraqi army in 2005.