December 9 (SeeNews) - The Croatian government decided on Friday to buy a French anti-aircraft defence system Mistral for 72 million euro ($76 million), defence minister Mario Banozic said.
The circumstances after the Russian aggression on Ukraine and the drone crash in Zagreb in March point to the need to review the priorities and plans to equip the Croatian army, Banozic told a weekly cabinet meeting, as seen in a video recording published on the news portal Index.hr.
“Therefore, the purchase of short-range air defence missile system has been set as a top priority in the short term,” Banozic added.
The delivery follows two deals that Croatia signed at the end of the last year with France for the purchase of 12 Rafale multipurpose fighters and associated logistics support by the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
($ = 0.947 euro)