April the 27th, 2024 – The newly Croatian Rafales that arrived in the country this week will protect the skies above this country for the next 40 or so years, according to Plenković.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated that the landing of the first six of 12 Rafale multi-purpose fighter planes in Velika Gorica is a historic event for Croatian security. He stressed that these modern now Croatian Rafales will protect Croatian skies, as well as the land and sea for the next 40 years or so.
“Croatia’s defence capability, especially its deterrence capability, has been raised to a level we have never had before,” said Plenković at a recently held government session, a day after the planes arrived in Croatia.
He called the Rafale purchase one of the most important decisions and projects to have been realised. He then noted that this strategic decision was made at the beginning of the mandate of his first government, eight years ago.
The aircraft procurement process was conducted transparently and rigorously, four offers were received and it was decided to purchase the French Rafales. In terms of performance, their equipment and price were the best choice for the money provided by the Croatian state.
“This was a very complex and demanding military, legal, financial and international process. We included all stakeholders and paid attention to the financial dimension. The planes themselves cost 999 million euros plus price indexation plus VAT, but the tranches and payments went through in a way that they didn’t affect the public debt,” the Prime Minister pointed out.
He thanked current and ex Finance Ministers Primorac and Marić and all three Defence Ministers; Krstičević, Banožić and Anušić. He also thanked the General Staff and experts within the Croatian Air Force.
He sent out special congratulations to the pilots, mechanics and technicians. About a hundred of them were trained in France for almost two years. He emphasised the positive comments of high French officials on the professionalism, engagement and enthusiasm of Croatia’s officers.
“They said they’d never seen such a level of professionalism,” Plenković said.
Regarding the purchase of multi-purpose fighter planes, he pointed out that it is part of strengthening the capabilities of the Croatian Army. He added that in the past eight years, the budget of the MOD has increased by more than one hundred percent.
“In the meantime, we acquired additional Black Hawk helicopters, Bradleys, which are now being renewed. The Mistral 3 air defence system was also acquired, we plan to supplement it with a new medium-range surface-to-air system, and we will also renew our radar coverage. Of course, we’re going to also continue our investments in the ground army and the Croatian navy, that’s a big future project”, concluded Plenković.
