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https://apnews.com/article/croatia-fran ... f380a74672
.Croatian officials welcome the arrival of Rafale fighter jets purchased from France
Updated 3:08 PM CEST, April 25, 2024
ZAGREB, Croatia — The first six of a dozen Rafale multipurpose fighter jets purchased by Croatia from France
landed at an air force base near Zagreb on Thursday
with a welcome ceremony attended by top officials.
The deal, signed in 2021 with French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, was said to be worth over a billion euros.
In addition to the aircraft, the contract covered weapon systems, spare parts, logistics and training.
France is to deliver the remaining six jets in 2025.
The acquisition will enable the Croatian Air Force to replace its outdated Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters.
In what appeared to be a mini arms race in the Balkans,
Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic last month also announced plans
to purchase 12 new Rafale fighters in a deal that was reportedly worth 3 billion euro.
The potential deal was not confirmed by French officials.
The acquisition of Rafale jets would allow Serbia to modernize its air force,
which consists mainly of Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters as well as aging Yugoslav combat aircraft.
Russia has been a traditional supplier of military aircraft, including combat helicopters, to Serbia,
which has refused to join international sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The rapid arming by the Serbian military during the past few years has been worrying some of its neighbors.
Serbia, a European Union candidate, is almost completely surrounded by NATO member countries
https://sarajevotimes.com/the-first-six ... n-croatia/
The first Six of a total of 12 Rafale multipurpose fighter Jets landed in Croatia
April 25, 2024
The first six of a total of 12 Rafale multipurpose fighter jets landed in Croatia on Thursday.
The pilots were greeted at Pleso by members of the Croatian leadership,
including President Zoran Milanović, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković.
The Rafales took off from the Bordeaux air base and entered Croatian airspace west of Rovinj.
The flight lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
They were brought in by Croatian pilots who trained for their use for 15 months.
The planes arrived in Croatia two years and five months after signing a contract with France worth more than one billion euros,
and the arrival of the last of the contracted planes is expected early next year.
The handover of the first Rafale aircraft took place on October 2 last year
at the French Air Force base in Mont-d-Marsan.
There should be eight planes in Croatia by the end of this year,
and the remaining four planes are expected by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
A total of EUR 1.13 billion has been provided for the purchase of Rafale from the Croatian state budget in the period from 2021 to 2026.
About 225 million euros have been earmarked for this year, 65 million for the next,
while about 18 million euros will be allocated from the Croatian budget for 2026.