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Hungary Military Industry
In the late 1980s, the government's defense industry
produced
only a small amount of the HPA's needs. Major weapons were
obtained from the Soviet Union. Communications and
instrumentation equipment made up about three-quarters of
the
country's military production, while artillery and
infantry
weapons and ammunition made up another 12 percent. The
production
of vehicles and aviation components contributed about 8
percent,
while chemicals and light industrial products formed the
remaining 5 percent.
In early 1989, military industries anticipated a 31
percent
decline in production compared with the previous year
because of
the slashed military budget and a drop in exports.
Factories that
produced mostly military equipment were expected to be
hard hit.
Military orders, mostly long-range microwave equipment and
accessories, made up about 80 percent of the production of
the
Precision Mechanics Enterprise. Military orders for
handguns made
up 35 percent of the Weapon and Gas Appliance Factory's
production and 25 percent of the orders for the Diosgyor
Engineering Factory. The Machine Factory at Godollö ,
which
produced components for military vehicles and tanks and
repaired
army equipment, was owned by the Ministry of Defense and
operated
by soldiers. In January 1989, it was operating at 50
percent of
capacity because orders from the other Warsaw Pact
countries
dropped by 50 percent and a cut in sales to the HPA was
anticipated. The military production of the Videoton
telecommunications factory, valued at US$132 million in
1988, was
expected to fall to US$84.9 million in 1991, and more than
2,000
of its 7,000 workers were expected to be released,
resulting in a
40 percent idle manufacturing capacity. The effects of
cutbacks
in military procurement on the euphemistically named "Lamp
Factory" (Lampagyar), which produced pistols and automatic
rifles, and the Danuvia Factory, which manufactured
machine guns,
was not known.
Data as of September 1989
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