Swedish membership in NATO came closer to reality yesterday when Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson finally made the trip to Budapest to meet with Viktor Orbán, as Orbán has been urging him to do for months. They came out of their meeting with a new defense agreement in hand which would see Sweden selling Hungary four JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets to add to the 14 Hungary already operates as well as additional support systems and service provision for the jets, reported AP. “I strongly welcome this deepened cooperation on advanced fighting capabilities,” Kristersson said, adding that the Gripen jets are “a pride of Sweden.”
Orbán said the additional fighters “will significantly increase our military capabilities and further strengthen our role abroad,” and will grow Hungary’s ability to participate in joint NATO operations.
