ZAGREB, January 9, 2019 – Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Zagreb on Wednesday that a meeting with representatives of the Israeli Defence Ministry on the delivery of Israeli F-16 fighter jets was scheduled for Thursday in Zagreb, and after the Israeli side notified Croatia about its position, the latter would decide on the matter.
“We will first see what officials of the Israeli Defence Ministry are going to tell us, and after that we can make pertinent decisions,” Plenković told the press when asked about a probability for advertising a new tender for the procurement of fighter jets.
On 29 March 2018, the Croatian government unanimously adopted a decision on the procurement of 12 Israeli F-16 C/D Barak fighter jets that are supposed to cost Croatia 2.9 billion kuna over a ten-year period.
The Israeli bid included the delivery of 12 upgraded used Israeli F-16 fighter jets for about 420 million euros. The aircraft are between 25 and 30 years old and are supposed to replace the outdated MiG-21 aircraft used by the Croatian Air Force.
The Israeli bid also includes two flight simulators, training of pilots and maintenance staff, and weapons for the aircraft. The plan is to use these aircraft for up to 25 years.
The Israeli bid was one of the four. All the four bids for the procurement of multi-purpose combat aircraft, to replace the Croatian Air Force MiG 21 jets that have been in use since the 1991-1995 war, were opened at the Croatian Defence Ministry in Zagreb on 3 October 2017. The bids were presented by representatives of Greece, Israel, Sweden and the United States.
The aircraft to be purchased were various models of the F-16 jet, which have been offered by Greece, Israel and the USA and which are part of their air forces, and the JAS 39 Grippen fighter jet, manufactured by the Swedish concern SAAB. The Greeks and the Israelis offered used planes.
However, the process of the delivery of the Israeli planes was delayed due to disagreements between the U.S.A. and Israel over the matter.
On 7 December, the US Ambassador to Croatia, William R. Kohorst, commented on the problem regarding the sale of modified Israeli F-16 fighter jets to Croatia, saying that Israel has to accept the set technical requirements for the American side to agree to the sale of 12 fighter jets, adding that the debate has to do with who owns the rights to the technical and intellectual property.
Plenković reiterated today that as far as Croatia was concerned, the whole process was transparent and the Craotian side requested the checking of all information a few times. The decision on the choice of the Israeli offer was made on the basis of the information available then, Plenković underscored. Some of the information that has recently appeared was not known before, he added.
Plenković said that Croatia continued being firmly devoted to the maintenance of the capabilities of its Air Force. Everything else is a matter of technological offers and financial sustainability, he explained.
More news on the Croatian military can be found in the Politics section.
