Croatia issues RfP for multirole fighter aircraft
Igor Tabak - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
21 July 2017
On 20 July, Croatia finally issued a request for proposals (RfP) for the acquisition of up to 12 modern multirole fighter aircraft. The Croatian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the RfP was sent to five countries: Greece, Israel and the US for the F-16; South Korea for the FA-50; and Sweden for the Gripen JAS 39.
Croatia has issued an RfP for a multirole fighter aircraft to replace its ageing MiG-21s. (IHS Markit/Igor Tabak)
Croatia has issued an RfP for a multirole fighter aircraft to replace its ageing MiG-21s. (IHS Markit/Igor Tabak)
The request was sent through the embassies of the five countries in Zagreb, with 75 days for proposals to be returned to Croatia. Following the deadline at the beginning of October, there will be an evaluation period, probably lasting until the end of the year. Apart from the characteristics and capabilities of the aircraft in question, the Croatian MoD listed three parameters that will also be considered in the evaluation of proposals: the government-to-government contract, the price, and the economic and industrial co-operation package.
The Croatian RfP is part of a long process, starting more than 15 years ago, to replace its ageing MiG-21 fighters. In 2006, Croatia issued its first request for information for a fighter aircraft but postponed the process in 2008 due to the economic crisis, during which Croatia was one of the worst hit countries in Europe, due to a combination of domestic structural and international factors.
