Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banozic and executives of the MBDA France company signed a contract on the procurement of the French Mistral short-range air defence missile system in Zagreb on Friday after the government decided on its procurement earlier in the day.

The document was signed in compliance with the defined priority of equipping the Croatian Army with the air defence system.

In attendance at the document-signing ceremony, held in the Croatian defence ministry, was French Ambassador to Croatia Gaël Veyssière, the ministry reported.

The value of the contract is €53,850,000 with a repayment term of five years and a total liability amounting to €71,957,138 when VAT is added.

The first deliveries are expected by the beginning of 2024.

Minister Banozic noted that the circumstances against a backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the crash of an unmanned aerial vehicle in Zagreb indicated that it was necessary to adjust the army’s priorities and equipment plans to those developments.

As a result, the Andrej Plenkovic cabinet decided to treat the procurement of a short-range anti-aircraft missile system as the highest priority in the short term.

As part of the Croatian-French Strategic Partnership, a political declaration signed in November 2021, France offered Croatia stronger cooperation in defence matters and, based on the programme for the acquisition of Rafale fighter jets, approved a donation of MBDA’s short-range missile launcher to protect an airbase in which the Rafale aircraft will be stationed.

“Croatia has expressed interest in the priority procurement of the Mistral short-range system launcher and Mistral missiles. This procurement is an urgent measure that is important for Croatia’s long-term security and defence,” Minister Banozic said and added that it also enables reaching the required level of NATO capability goals.