Rafale enters service with Croatian Air Force

The first six Dassault Rafale fighters were officially received by Croatia. The aircraft landed today at the Velika Gorica air base, south of Zagreb, operated by their French-trained pilots.

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The first six Rafale fighter jets operated by the Croatian Air Force (Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana) were received at a ceremony officiated by President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Defense Minister Ivan Anušić.

In late May 2021, Zagreb made it known that the choice of aircraft to replace the Croatian Air Force’s aging MiG-21s (inherited from the Soviet era and whose operability had fallen to historic levels), fell on the French offer for 12 second-hand Dassault Rafale F3Rs. The 12 Rafale’s left the French Air and Space Force’s stockpile in November 2021.

See also: Croatia took delivery of the first of 12 Rafale fighters, purchased second-hand from France

Coming from Dassault Aviation’s Mérignac facility, these six Rafale will join the 191st Croatian Air Force Squadron. The next Rafale will arrive from the end of 2024, to form a full squadron by mid-2025.

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“The mastery with which the Croatian Air Force carried out this first ferry testifies to the excellence of its pilots and personnel, and brilliantly illustrates the quality of Croatia’s cooperation with France. Dassault Aviation is fully committed to completing the full integration and logistic support of the Rafale into the Croatian Air Force, which will contribute to ensuring Croatia’s sovereignty and enable it to successfully carry out its operational missions within NATO”, declared Éric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.