On 21st November 2024, the seventh example of Dassault Rafale multirole fighter for the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence (Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana – CroAF) landed at the ´Colonel Marko Živković´ air base in Velika Gorica / Zagreb airport.
In late November of 2021, during the visit of the President of France Emmanuel Macron to Croatia, a bilateral agreement was signed, worth approximately one billion EUR and covering sale of twelve second-hand Rafale multirole fighters for the CroAF.
The purchased aircraft included ten single-seat and two double-seat aircraft, representing F3-R variant of the French multirole fighter. In addition, the CroAF will receive flight simulators, crew training programme and operational support until the end of 2026.
According to the contract, delivery of the Rafale jets to Croatia was planned to be executed in 2024 and 2025, in two batches of six aircraft each. However, the first example of the French fighter – the aeroplane with tail number ´170´ – was officially handed over in October of 2023, ahead of initial schedule.
The same applies for the seventh Rafale, which, according to the preliminary schedule, was expected to arrive at the beginning of 2024.
According to the Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić, the CroAF should now be receiving one new fighter each consecutive month and the deliveries are going to be concluded in April of 2025.
In addition, the press service of the CroAF informed that between 27th and 29th November 2024, the 191st Fighter Squadron – equipped with the Dassault Rafale aircraft – plans to carry out an extensive training activity over the country, during which breaking the sound barrier is expected.
Cover photo: the first Croatian Rafale fighter, acquired in 2023. All photos © Ministarstvo obrane Republike Hrvatske (F. Klen). Information from official press releases of the Croatian MoD were used.
