Tag Archives: Croatia Rafales

Croatia back in charge of its own skies

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A quiet development from the Balkans.

When Croatia broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991, its nascent air force, the HRZ, was comprised of civil aircraft such as the UTVA (a sort of Yugo-made Cessna without the luxury), scrounged AN-2 Colts, and even ultralights flown by volunteers from local Aero clubs dropping homemade “boiler bombs” on enemy formations. Real MacGyver kind of stuff.

Croatian air force Antonov An-2 (NATO: Colt) in 1991. Yes, this was used in combat. They were used to drop improvised bombs on Serb positions around Vukovar.

The HRZ later obtained a handful of the aircraft you would expect for a former Yugo state: MiG-21 fighter jets, Mi-24 combat helicopters, Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters, largely acquired cash-and-carry as surplus from former Soviet states in Central Asia and Ukraine. The running gag is that sometimes those states didn’t always realize they were surplus!

MiG-21UMD in Croatian checkerboard livery of 191. Eskadrila Lovačkih Aviona.

MiG-21UMD in Croatian checkerboard livery of 191. Eskadrila Lovačkih Aviona.

MiG-21UMD in Croatian checkerboard livery of 191. Eskadrila Lovačkih Aviona.

Although its second/third-hand 24 MiG-21bis/UM types were upgraded and lightly modified over the years, they were old and, ultimately, unsupportable as modern fighter aircraft, but cash-strapped Croatia didn’t have the funds to pull off better.

Finally, after a multi-year effort, it was decided in November 2021 to buy 12 used Rafale F3-R C/Bs: ten single-seater C F3-Rs and two two-seater Rafale B F3Rs. On 2 October 2023, Croatia received the first aircraft at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base, while the 12th was delivered on 25 April 2025, all fielded by the “Knights” of the 191st Fighter Aircraft Squadron (191. Eskadrila Lovačkih Aviona), the country’s only fighter outfit.

As training and support shifted from the MiGs, which the 191st retired, to the new (to them) Rafales, NATO-allied Hungary and Italy shared the responsibility for policing Croatian airspace, with Gripens and Typhoons on QRAs in their respective countries. After all, the HRZ is a small organization, just 1,500 members strong, and modern multi-role fighters are a time/money drain for any air force.

That has changed as, effective 1 January, Croatia’s new Rafes came online and took over their country’s airspace, plugged into NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) framework.

And the 191st still runs the country’s now-iconic national checkerboards.

Of Rafale and Gripen in Central Europe

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The Croatian MOD last week announced they have taken official ownership of the first six Rafales (of a total order of 12) purchased from France to replace their MiG-21s, which is a big deal for an air force that didn’t even exist before 1991. The Ministry published a photo featuring the six Rafales on hand.

For those keeping up at home, the French have been very successful in marketing Rafale outside of the country, with seven nations including UAE and India operating the type. They are also courting some very unlikely customers including Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, so there’s that.

Meanwhile, Saab just announced they have received an order from Hungary for an additional four Gripens to augment the 14 Gripen C/D models the country already operates, in addition to a contract for support for the 18 fighters through at least 2035.

Saab Gripens in Hungarian service

With that being said, check out this recent video concerning the Gripen when it comes to dispersed operations, something the Swedish Air Force has prized going back to the Great War.