Croatia to finalize new fighter aircraft deal by December 2020

Croatia new fighter jet procurement
Swedish Gripen and Norwegian F-16 jets fly in formation. The two types are the favorites in the Croatian tender for the acquisition of new combat aircraft.

Croatia plans to finalize the new fighter jet deal by 12 December 2020, according to Defense Minister Mario Banozic. The choice of the new system was initially scheduled for August 2020, but was then postponed due to Covid.

The Croatian government expects bidders to review their prices in the meantime. The deal is expected to be between USD 600 and USD 800 million.

Banozic did not provide details on the offers submitted, however, last week, the Croatian Defense Ministry said they received offers from Sweden, the United States, France and Israel.

The deal involves the purchase of 12 new or second-hand fourth generation fighter jets to replace the MiG-21 fleet of the Croatian Air Force.

In January, the Croatian government sent RFPs to the United States (F-16) and Sweden (Gripen) for new aircraft and to France (Rafale), Italy (Eurofighter), Norway (F-16), Greece (F-16) and Israel (F-16) for second-hand aircraft.

In January 2019, Croatia cancelled the agreed purchase of 12 F-16 Barak jets from Israel, after the USD 500 million deal was blocked by the United States.

Written by Matteo Sanzani

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