The new tower at the base airfield in Pápa has a new bush

A combined airfield facility is being built by Strabag at the Hungarian Armed Forces' 47th Base Airfield in Pápa, where a warehouse and office building will be constructed alongside a parachute drying tower. The project, which was launched last October, has now reached the topping-out stage.

At the bushwalk ceremony of the CAPF Combined Air Port in Pápa, Krisztián Kiss, the technical area manager of Strabag, reminded that this is an old custom, there are records of bushwalk celebrations from the 13th century. The designer and the contractor celebrate together that the supporting structure of the building is finished and that the highest point of the building has been reached. On Monday, this was the case for the Strategic Airlift Capability development, as the steel structure of the drying building was completed and a wreath was placed on it, in keeping with tradition.

Although in previous centuries the celebration of the bush was also a legal event, because it was also a proof of fulfilment, in recent years it has become less and less important. As Krisztián Kiss emphasised, it was particularly gratifying that the development of the Multinational Strategic Air Transport Capability campus attracted many people to the construction site, where not only the project was celebrated, but also the traditions of the profession - something that is of particular importance to the management of Strabag.

Military development on a scale not seen for a long time

The Strabag took over the site on 10 November 2022, where initial design difficulties meant that the project started a little slower than planned, but the problems have been overcome and construction is now well underway. Construction of the superstructure began on 2 August and in 12 weeks the building reached the advanced state of completion that is visible today, with

• 7400 m³ soil and local material were moved,
• 5400 m³ embankment was rebuilt,
• 266 tonnes of reinforcing steel and
• 1940 m³ concrete was installed,
• and 355 tonnes of structural steel have been installed in the structure so far.

Gábor Ott, Head of the Infrastructure and Facilities Management Department of the NATO Air Transport Management Programme Office, stressed that reaching the highest point of the support structure is a significant milestone for them as well, as it is the turning point of the project that started in 2018. After the study designs were completed, they began work on a permanent air cargo facility based on US Air Force design guidelines, which will take over the functions of the previous temporary tent, while significantly expanding them

among others, with a freight drying tower, which will certainly be unique in Hungary, but perhaps also in the region.

Serving 12 countries

The 47th Base Airfield of the Hungarian Defence Forces is home to the Strategic Airlift Capabilities (SAC), an independent military cooperation programme that provides 12 member nations with access to strategic military airlift capabilities using three Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft. The programme was launched in September 2008 for a 30-year period and has now exceeded 40,000 flight hours.

In addition to Hungary as a host nation, its member states are NATO member countries (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, the Netherlands and the USA) and Sweden, a "Partnership for Peace" country on the verge of joining NATO. These partner countries need strategic airlift which they could not necessarily finance on their own, and therefore the joint ownership and operation of strategic airlift assets is a great help to them. Hungary, as a host nation, provides the MH 47th Base Airfield in Pápa, which is the home base for heavy airlift aircraft.

Developments continue

To ensure that all this works well, the NATO Airlift Program Office was established, responsible for procuring, managing and operating all necessary facilities, equipment and services throughout the lifecycle of the C-17 fleet; and providing financial, administrative, logistical and field support to the Heavy Airlift Regiment's operations. Under this support, the multi-acre SAC hangar complex was completed in 2016, and the next phase of expansion of this infrastructure programme includes the present project and the C-17 Aircrew Training Facility, the so-called Simulator Building, which is hoped to be launched soon.

Gábor Ott concluded by saying that he hopes to be able to welcome the audience at the official opening ceremony next spring.