May 28 (SeeNews) - The Croatian government said on Friday it decided to purchase 12 used multirole combat aircraft Rafale F3-R from France for 999 million euro ($1.2 billion).
France's offer was more favourable than the other three submitted respectively by the US, Sweden and Israel, the Croatian government said in a press release. The US has offered new F-16 C/D Block 70 aircraft, Sweden - new Gripen C/D jets and Israel has offered used F-16 C/D Block 30 jets.
Ten of the Rafale jets to be procured are single-seaters, while the remaining two are double-seaters.
Together with the aircraft, France's offer includes a flight simulator, basic weapons package, ground and test equipment, spare parts, staff training, three-year technical support and a 12-month warranty, the government said.
By purchasing the aircraft, Croatia will meet the goal of NATO member states to spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on strengthening their defence capacity, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic noted in the press release.
The lifespan of the Soviet-made MiG-21 aircraft currently operated by the Croatian Air Force will expire in 2024, the government said.
The Croatian government launched the procedure for the procurement of 12 fighter jets in July 2019. Earlier that year, Croatia cancelled the agreed purchase of 12 multi-purpose US-made F-16 Barak jets from Israel, after the $500 million deal was blocked by the US.
($ = 0.8236 euro)