Continental Europe
ANALYSIS
THE CROATIAN government reversed its decision to acquire 12 former Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-16C/D Block 30 Barak aircraft on January 14.
In an effort to replace the dwindling fleet of MiG-21 fighters operated by the Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo (HRZ, Croatian Air Force), Zagreb accepted the Israeli offer in March last year (see Israeli F-16s for Croatia, May 2018, p6). The deal was worth around $500m and included training for HRZ pilots and ground crews, a flight simulator, ground support equipment, initial spares and weapons, as well as adaptation of the existing infrastructure at Zagreb-Pleso air base.
Ahead of the official signing of an agreement between the two governments, three IAF F-16Ds paid an official visit to Croatia last August (see Israeli Air Force F-16s visit Croatia, October 2018, p12). However, weeks later, it became apparent the deal was in trouble when signature was postponed indefinitely.
The reason was finally confirmed by US officials at the beginning of December. Rather predictably, the US requested Israel remove all indigenous modifications from the aircraft before transferring them to Croatia, as part of the Third Party Transfer (TPT) process.
At the …
