Croatia to drop €1 billion on used Rafale fighter jets

WARSAW, Poland — Croatia’s government has made a decision to buy 12 second-hand Rafale F3-R fighter jets from France for the country’s Air Force, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said.

“The purchase of the multirole fighter aircraft will strengthen Croatia’s position as a member of NATO and a partner within the European Union. For the first time, we will reach 2 percent of the GDP allocated to strengthening our defense capabilities,” Plenković said, as quoted in a statement released by his government.

The deal is to be worth some €999 million (U.S. $1.2 billion) and, in addition to the aircraft, it will cover weapon systems, spare parts, logistics and training. Following the cabinet’s decision, Zagreb will proceed to negotiate the contract’s details with Paris.

Under the plan, France is to deliver the first six twin-engine aircraft in 2024, and the remaining six Rafales will be supplied the following year. The delivered aircraft will include 10 single-seater and two twin-seater fighter jets.

Other offers considered by Zagreb included the purchase of F-16 Block 70 aircraft from the United States, Swedish JAS-39 Gripen C/D fighter jets, and F-16C/D Block 30 aircraft from Israel. Through the acquisition, Croatia’s Air Force is aiming to replace its outdated Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters.

In 2018, Croatia’s Defence Ministry announced it intended to purchase used Israeli F-16s, but in early 2019 the government scrapped the decision and re-launched the tender. Croatian officials told local media the U.S. government accused its Israeli counterpart of unfair competition in the tender.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——克罗地亚总理安德烈·普伦科维奇表示，克罗地亚政府已决定从法国购买 12 架二手“阵风”F3-R 战斗机，供该国空军使用。

“购买多用途战斗机将巩固克罗地亚作为北约成员国和欧盟伙伴的地位。我们将首次把国内生产总值的2%用于加强国防能力，”普伦科维奇在其政府发布的一份声明中表示。

这笔交易价值约9.99亿欧元（12亿美元），除了飞机之外，还将涵盖武器系统、备件、后勤和培训。内阁做出决定后，萨格勒布将与巴黎就合同细节展开谈判。

根据该计划，法国将于2024年交付首批六架双引擎飞机，剩余的六架“阵风”战斗机将于次年交付。交付的飞机将包括10架单座战斗机和2架双座战斗机。

萨格勒布方面考虑的其他方案包括从美国购买F-16 Block 70战斗机、从瑞典购买JAS-39“鹰狮”C/D战斗机以及从以色列购买F-16C/D Block 30战斗机。克罗地亚空军希望通过此次采购，替换其老旧的苏联制造的米格-21战斗机。

2018年，克罗地亚国防部宣布计划购买以色列二手F-16战斗机，但2019年初，政府取消了该决定并重新启动招标。克罗地亚官员告诉当地媒体，美国政府指责以色列在招标中存在不正当竞争。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。