The first six Dassault Rafale F3R fighters to be operated by the Croatian Air Force – Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana (HRZ i PZO) arrived at the force’s 91st Air Base near Zagreb on 25 April 2024, Dassault announced the same day.
The aircraft, four single-seaters and two two-seaters, were flown there by Croatian pilots trained by the French Air and Space Force from Dassault Aviation’s site in Mérignac, France, and will join the HRZ i PZO’s 191st Fighter Squadron.
They were welcomed by the Croatian President Zoran Milanović, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić during a ceremony at the base.
“This is a historic day for Croatia. The first six Rafale multi-purpose fighter planes guard the Croatian skies from today,” stated Plenković at the event. “The security of our country has been raised to a level it has never been before. We are proud to realise the largest investment in the capabilities of the Croatian armed forces.
“In the Rafale planes, we are gaining the power of deterrence; we are strengthening our strategic partnership with France; we have joined the Dassault family, which significantly changes our role in NATO and the EU,” Plenković added.
Croatia signed a contract worth EUR 1 billion for 12 former French Rafale F3Rs, as well as weapon systems, spare parts, logistics and training, on 25 November 2021. The remaining Rafales will arrive from the end of 2024 and form a complete squadron by mid-2025.
The Croatian Rafales will ultimately take over the policing of Croatian airspace: a mission that is currently integrated into NATO arrangements and overseen by Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany, and the alliance’s southern Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejon, Spain.
From 1992 the HRZ i PZO operated a combat jet fleet consisting of 31 MiG-21bis fighters plus eight MiG-21UM conversion trainers. However, from the beginning of 2024, as the HRZ i PZO began to retire this fleet, only half a dozen MiG-21s remained in service.
