The cooperation would include eight megaprojects.
The decision on acquisition of new combat aircraft should be made in about month and a half, according to sources close to the decision-making process. The crucial step will be a session of the Council on Defence, which will be presented with all the offers and which should send to the government a recommendation on whose aircraft to buy, reports Jutarnji List on February 12, 2018.
Until then, all four bids submitted to the tender will be analyzed in all segments – military, economic and political.
Defence Minister Damir Krstičević has repeatedly emphasised that one of the key segments is “business and economic co-operation with new partners from whom we expect a strong momentum for Croatian economy, the expansion of businesses opportunities for our companies, and the creation of new jobs for our citizens.”
So far, the most discussed topic has been the technical characteristics of potential new aircraft, while the elements of economic co-operation have been kept secret. This is not surprising, given the sensitivity of contracting this segment of co-operation in military affairs. The European Commission has forbidden the offset model for the sale of military weapons, and potential contractors can now only negotiate industrial co-operation between the two countries, which cannot be directly linked to the procurement of military equipment. What the bidders from Israel, Sweden, the United States and Greece have offered is still unknown, except for the fact that, according to unofficial information, there are intensive consultations with a number of Croatian companies. The defence industry sees this as a great chance to market its products, but also for the adoption and development of new technologies.
Alojzije Šestan, the president of the Community of Special Purpose Producers at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, has publicly demanded from the Defence Minister to include Croatian military equipment producers in the negotiations.
Swedish SAAB has already announced the establishment of the Innovation Programme in Croatia, which will consist of the Software Centre, the Science Park and the University Research Programme, in cooperation with Ericsson Nikola Tesla and the Faculty of Electronics and Computing (FER) in Zagreb. However, SAAB argues that this project is unrelated to the selling of their aircraft to Croatia.
At the same time, SAAB’s strongest competitor at the tender, Israel with its F16 Barak aircraft, has elaborated in detail the economic segment of its offer. According to unofficial information, it consists of eight projects, including investments in agriculture, energy, the IT sector, shipbuilding and tourism. The Israelis also want to cooperate with FER in several areas. Another important field of possible cooperation are cybernetics and demining.
In addition to industrial co-operation, the Israeli side has put great emphasis on the cooperation between defence industries. One of the proposed projects is the opening of the military-commercial Cyber Security Centre, which would enable Croatia to have access to the latest technologies. The Centre would allegedly develop technologies for the fight against drones, which have become an indispensable part of modern armies. It is thought that the project would be realised by Israel Aerospace Industries.
One of the most critical partners in the cooperation would be the Israeli company Elbit, which would invest in the construction of a firearms munitions factory that would provide ammunition for the Croatian Army, but also, more importantly, ensure exports to the Israeli market.
Also, military training co-operation is offered through the opening of a training centre for F-16 fighter pilots. The centre would be located at Zemunik near Zadar and would include an F-16 simulator. The Israeli side is also interested in privatising the Aeronautical-Technical Centre in Velika Gorica, which would be turned into a regional F-16 maintenance centre.
Translated from Jutarnji List (written by Krešimir Žabec).
