In November 2021, France agreed to sell 12 used Rafale fighter jets to Croatia, of which the twelve units sold to Croatia came from French Air Force stock. And almost two years have passed, now there is news that the first Rafale unit for Croatia has been handed over by France.
Quoted from aerotime.aero (3/10/2023), the Croatian Air Force officially received its first Dassault Aviation Rafale F3-R fighter jet. The handover took place on October 2, 2023, in a ceremony held at Mont-de-Marsan 118 Air Base near Bordeaux, southwest France.
The first aircraft with tail number 170 is a tandem seat aircraft that will be used by the Croatian Air Force to train its pilots. After the official reception ceremony of the Rafale aircraft in France, Croatian pilots will fly to the Bordeaux Training Center, where further training will be carried out for Croatian Air Force pilots.
In total, Croatia ordered 12 used Rafale F3R fighter jets, namely 10 single-seater Rafale C fighter jets and two twin-seater Rafale B fighter jets from the French Air and Space Force. Not only that, Croatia also bought weapons systems, spare parts, logistics, simulators and training services.
The contract for the package of 12 Rafales including weapons, spare parts and logistics, is worth €1.15 billion (US$1.3 billion), and was signed in November 2021.
The standard Rafale F3R became fully operational on March 17, 2021. The Rafale F3-R variant has received several upgrades, which include the RBE2 AESA radar system, Meteor long-range air-to-air missile, TALIOS targeting pod, and SPECTRA system to counter electronic warfare .
Previously, France had agreed to sell used Rafales to Greece. On January 25 2021, France and Greece completed a contract agreement for the procurement of 18 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation. The agreed contract is worth 1.92 billion euros or the equivalent of US$2.35 billion. Consisting of 12 Rafale units used by the French Air Force and 6 units of new production Rafale.
In Croatia, the Rafale will replace the vintage Soviet-era MiG-21BisD/UMD jets. In June 2021, the Croatian government announced that it had selected the French fighter after a competition pitting it against the Saab JAS-39 Gripen, the second-hand Israeli F-16 Block 30, and Lockheed Martin's new F-16 Viper.
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