Hungary Sells 66 Armored Personnel Carriers to Serbia for €935,000, Not 26 as Initially Claimed

The Hungarian Ministry of Defense sold 66 BTR-80A armored personnel carriers to Serbia for €935,000 in early 2024, contrary to its earlier claim of selling only 26. Independent MP Ákos Hadházy uncovered the discrepancy through a public interest data request, which required court intervention to obtain.

Initially, in January 2023, the government stated it had sold 26 vehicles, which were part of a larger batch of 555 received from Russia between 1996 and 1999. The ministry later confirmed that the vehicles were not needed for national defense but sold for a low price, prompting Hadházy to suggest that they were sold at scrap metal rates. Hungary plans to replace the BTRs with Lynx infantry combat vehicles from Germany's Rheinmetall, under a contract signed in August 2020.