Croatia officially receives first Dassault Rafale fighter jet
Croatia announced the Rafale as the winner of the fighter aircraft procurement programme in May 2021. (Photo: Croatian Air Force/French Air Force)
The official handover of the first Dassault Rafale B jet is a key development in a deal involving 12 aircraft for Croatia. This marks the start of a transition from Croatia's Soviet-era MiG-21 fighters and legacy aircraft.
The Croatian Air Force has officially received its first second-hand Dassault Rafale B jet at Base Aérienne (BA) 118 Mont-de-Marsan in the south-west of France, the service announced on 2 October.
A dual-seater Rafale B was spotted earlier in September landing at the air base, but this was the first official ceremony for the French-made fighters.
Until the arrival of the French jet, Croatia has been operating a dozen Soviet-era MiG-21 multirole fighters, 14 Pilatus C-9 turboprop training aircraft and four Zlin Z 42 single-engine Czechoslovakian trainers.
Zagreb announced the winner of the MiG-21 fighter replacement programme in May
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
Read this Article
Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 2 free stories per week
- Daily news round-up email service
- Access to all Decisive Edge email newsletters
Unlimited Access
Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.
- Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
- 14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
- Unlimited access to all published premium news
More from Air Warfare
-
![Analysis: UK government goes on decommissioning spree to balance defence budget]()
Analysis: UK government goes on decommissioning spree to balance defence budget
UK defence secretary John Healey has announced the cancellation and decommissioning of naval and air force platforms to enable the government to “re-invest money in the armed forces” ahead of the upcoming Strategic Defence Review.
-
![German Armed Forces receive first of 82 H145M helicopters]()
German Armed Forces receive first of 82 H145M helicopters
The H145s have been named “Leichter Kampfhubschrauber” (light combat helicopter), or LKH for short, by the German Armed Forces.
-
![US Air Force aiming to have CCA operational by end of the decade]()
US Air Force aiming to have CCA operational by end of the decade
By making “tough choices”, the US Air Force’s CCA programme has continued to move forward with Increment 2 on the horizon.
