The Serbian Ministry of Defense announced the decision to purchase from Hungary Russian BTR-80A, which were supplied to Budapest in the 1990s, but are now being withdrawn from service. UNN reports this with reference to Hungary Today.
Hungary has decided to remove the BTR-80A armored personnel carriers from service because they do not meet the long-term defense needs of the country. Serbia will purchase a total of 26 armored personnel carriers in the BTR-80A variant, which Hungary received from Russia in 1996-1999 as part of compensation for the state debt from the Soviet era.
During this period, the Hungarian Armed Forces received a total of 555 armored personnel carriers in different variants. Most of them were modernized between 2006 and 2010. The combat vehicles are equipped with night vision and modern communication systems, which do not meet the current needs of the Hungarian Armed Forces.
To replace its fleet of BTR-80A combat vehicles, Hungary is buying modern Lynx infantry fighting vehicles from German company Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH.