Croatian Air Force Rafale Delivered

Croatia formally took delivery of its first Rafale during a ceremony at Mont-de-Marsan air base in south-western France, attended by the defence minister and the chief of the general staff. The aircraft, a two-seat Rafale B, is the first of twelve second-hand F3R-standard fighters bought from France under a contract worth about a billion euros to replace the Croatian Air Force's Soviet-era MiG-21 fleet. The jet remained in France while Croatian pilots and technicians completed conversion training, with the first six aircraft due to reach Croatia in 2024 and the balance the following year.