Croatia is ordering Dassault Rafale multirole fighters. (Photo: Dassault)
The Croatian government confirmed on 28 May a deal with France to buy 12 second-hand Dassault Rafale multirole fighters as replacements for ageing Croatian Air Force MiG-21s.
Following a meeting of the Croatian government, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced that his country has chosen to buy ten single-seat and a pair of two-seat Rafales. The decision is based on a complex score from evaluating the received offers, taking financial, technical and geostrategic factors into account.
‘By procuring fighter jets, Croatia is gaining a powerful strategic deterrent for the next 30 to 40 years, which significantly strengthens its international position
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The report comes as heads of industry bodies warn that the delayed defence spending plan has left smaller and medium sized businesses in stasis, unable to plan or seek out further investment.
Norway first scoped the requirement in 2022, and included it in a defence strategy document in 2023. The announcement of a new framework agreement appears to have breathed fresh life into the effort.
The effective use of the Shahed-136 in the Iran war has highlighted the need for countries to acquire a domestically produced, low-cost, long-range loitering munition, with the US, Turkey and European nations all at various stages of developing a similar capability.
The disagreement between French-German industry continues as both governments work to keep the programme alive and on track to develop and deliver a sixth-generation fighter jet.
The USAF is seeking on-the-move systems, subsystems or technologies capable of defending airbases and fixed and semi-fixed sites against small drone attacks.
Norway’s funding boost will help the country reach 3.5% of GDP on defence spending by 2035, with autonomous systems part of the long list of priorities alongside frigate acquisition and development of a new Finnmark Brigade.
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