Croatian Defence Minister Ivan Anusic has announced that Croatian Air Force pilots trained in France will fly the first six of a total of 12 Rafale multi-role combat aircraft to Croatia on Thursday.

“With a historic flight from Bordeaux to Zagreb, lasting one hour and 40 minutes, the French-trained pilots of the victorious Croatian army will bring the powerful fighter planes and new guardians of our airspace to Croatia on Thursday,” Anusic wrote on the social network X on Tuesday.

“The modernisation of the fighter aircraft fleet is the biggest investment of the government and the Ministry of Defence in the Croatian Armed Forces and the security of our homeland,” he added.

Around 90 Croatian military personnel have been sent to France for training. The training of technical personnel began at the end of 2022 and that of flight personnel in the first quarter of last year.