Defence Minister Mario Banozic on Saturday attended, at Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman Airport, the handover of two US-made UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, announcing a plan for the procurement of another eight helicopters to meet the Croatian Air Force's needs.

The minister thanked the US partners for the support which started during the 1991-95 Homeland War.

In February this year, the first two Black Hawk helicopters were delivered to Croatia and already in May they were put in operation, the minister recalled, noting that the strong partnership between Croatia and the USA had now resulted in the delivery of another two helicopters.

Croatia has so far procured a total of four UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters as part of a project for the equipment of the Croatian Armed Forces, which started in December 2018 in cooperation with the US government. The first two helicopters were donated by the US government through the allocation of a US$ 53 million grant.

Impresivni C-17 Globemaster iz baze Rammstein slijeće na Pleso. Hrvatskoj stižu još dva helikoptera Black Hawk. Prva dva su bili donacija, druga dva, dakako plaća. @N1infoZG pic.twitter.com/wE6kjfpEDm

— Ivan Hrstic (@ihrstic) December 3, 2022

Minister Banozic announced the continuation of cooperation in the gradual changeover to Western technology and replacement of all Soviet-made equipment, primarily Mi-8 and 171 Sh helicopters, which are still in use but are becoming problematic due to maintenance and procurement of spare parts.

Banozic said there were plans to procure another eight Black Hawk helicopters by the time the Soviet-made helicopters’ lifespan expires, in early 2024 and 2026 and 2027 respectively.

The ideal number of Black Hawk helicopters for the Croatian Armed Forces would be 12 and I believe that we will make it happen, he said.

As for hangars at Lucko where the new helicopters would be parked and maintained, Banozic said that the hangar for parking the new aircraft should soon be completed and as for the hangar for the maintenance of the aircraft, an increase in prices has postponed the start of construction work for 2023. Building that hangar would require nine to ten months, he said.

Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Admiral Robert Hranj, who also attended today’s ceremony, thanked the US government and army for their continual support for the equipment and modernisation of the Croatian army.