Final preparations are underway for the historic flight of the first six Rafale fighter jets to Croatia, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“The first six out of a total of 12 multipurpose combat aircraft Rafale are coming to Croatia this spring – just a few weeks separate us from the arrival of the new powerful guardians of the Croatian sky. The remaining six will fly to Croatia by the beginning of next year when the training of the other Croatian pilots is completed,” the statement said.

In a hangar of the Dassault Aviation company’s training centre in Bordeaux, France, combat pilots and technicians of the Croatian Air Force are undergoing final preparations before the flight of the first six Rafales from France to Croatia.

Around 90 personnel were sent to France for training. Technical staff training began at the end of 2022, and pilot training started in the first quarter of last year, the statement said.