According to a report by Defense News, Croatia will be buying 12 second-hand Rafale F3-R fighter jets, formerly part of the French Air Force, said its Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
Plenković, in a statement, said, "As a NATO member and European Union partner will be reinforced by the acquisition of the multi-role fighter aircraft. For the very first time, we will spend 2% of GDP to upgrading our defense systems," as per a Yahoo report.
The purchase will cost €999 million (US$1.2 billion), which will include weaponry systems, replacement parts, logistics, and instruction, in addition to the aircraft. After the cabinet's agreement, Zagreb will negotiate terms with Paris on the contract's details.
According to the agreement, France will send the first six twin-engine fighters in 2024 and the remaining six Rafales the following year. Ten of the fighters will be single-seaters, while two will be twin-seaters.
Croatia also considered offers from the US, Sweden, and Israel
Croatia also considered buying F-16 Block 70 fighter jets from the US, JAS-39 Gripen C/D fighter jets from Sweden, and F-16C/D Block 30 fighters from Israel. Croatia's Air Force wants to reinforce its old Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-21 fighters with just this procurement.
The Defense Ministry announced in 2018 that it intended to buy old Israeli F-16 jet fighters, but then in early 2019, the government changed its decision and revised the contract to instead by used Rafale fighter jets.
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Manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the Rafale fighter jet is a twin-jet combat aircraft with a multi-role as it is capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions. It is capable of ground, and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and could be a nuclear strike deterrent.
Developed by the French aerospace firm to serve as the backbone of the French Navy and French Air Force, the 4.5 generation fighter is at par with the F-16 Viper and F-15 Eagle II.
It has already proven its worth in actual conflicts showcasing its excellent delta wing performance. It served in Afghanistan, Mali, Libya, Syria, and Iraq campaigns with coalition forces. Several other countries like Egypt, Qatar, and India also bought the Rafales.
Nations want the Rafale for its payload of weapons used for many missions, with 14 hardpoints for the air force and 13 hardpoints on the naval version. It can carry several types of air to air or ground to air missiles or bombs, cited the Air Force Technology.
It can mount a Sidewinder, ASRAAM and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. For ground attacks and ship targets, it uses HARM, Maverick, Exocet, Penguin, and Harpoon missiles. The fighter jet can deploy the MBDA (previously Aerospatiale) ASMP stand-off nuclear missile for a strategic mission.
It is equipped with the latest sensors like the electronic warfare system called Spectra made by Thales, which has a transmitter technology, a DAL laser warning receiver, missile warning, detection systems, and jammers to counter electronics systems in electronic countermeasures mode.
The most important part of the fighter is the RBE2 passive electronically scanned radar, which has look-down and shoot-down capabilities. It is capable of acquiring eight targets and three enemies for attack and identification.
These advantages of the Rafale fighter jets are one of the reasons why Croatia opted to purchase them over the others.
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