Croatian govt approves deal for supply of four Black Hawk helicopters

The government has given its consent to the defence ministry to use funding from the state budget in the 2021-2026 period to support the procurement of the helicopters, to be carried out in partnership with the United States, the cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday.

The project is worth a total of 1.167 billion kuna ($175 million/157 million euro), with 360.64 million kuna to come as donation from the US, while the remaining 807.23 million kuna will be provided from the state budget in the 2021-2026 period, the government said, adding that the donation will cover the cost of procurement of two of the four helicopters with their related equipment and spare parts.

The defence ministry said earlier that the procurement of the Black Hawk helicopters will provide new capabilities which are important for the further development and modernisation of the Croatian army, as well as for the further development of the homeland security system.

In late October, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the State Department approved the possible sale to Croatia of two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $115 million (103 million euro), with the deal pending the approval of the US Congress.

Croatia has been a NATO member since 2009.

(1 euro = 7.43906 kuna)