During French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Croatia, the Croatian government approved the purchase of 12 used Rafale multi-role fighter jets from the French company Dassault Aviation.

The purchase of the 12 RAFALE fighter jets has a total cost of about 1 billion euros, which will be paid in five installments from 2022 to 2026. The purchase will be completed with the purchase of ten single-seater fighter jets and two two-seater fighter jets for training purposes, the Croatian government announced.

The agreement was reached during Macron’s visit to Croatia, which began on Wednesday night and ended on Thursday morning.

As part of Macron’s visit, Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banozic and his French counterpart Florence Parly signed a defense agreement on Thursday morning, which is expected to be the largest arms purchase in the country’s history since its independence.

“I am happy, on behalf of Dassault Aviation and its partners, to enter into a relationship of trust with Croatia, a European country, and to write a new page on the Rafale, which I am sure will give the Croatian Air Force full satisfaction, actively contributing to the exercise of Croatia’s sovereignty,” Eric Trapier, President and CEO of Dassault Aviation said after the signing ceremony.

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Banozic said on Wednesday that the 12 RAFALEs are fully compliant with NATO standards and that they will be “sufficient for Croatia for 30 years or even longer.”

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