The next big project of the possible third government of Andrej Plenkovic will be the procurement of multi-purpose ships, the Prime Minister said on Thursday in a statement to the media after the ceremonial arrival of the first group of Rafale multi-purpose fighter planes in Croatia. , where they arrived from the French city of Bordeaux.
“I would now say that the key big project for this mandate, and that is what we finally said in our election program, is that the Croatian Navy is now taking its turn,” Plenkovi said.
“It’s time to have multi-purpose ships along with multi-purpose planes, and that will be the next big project of our third government to strengthen the Croatian Army,” he added.
The first six of a total of 12 Rafale multipurpose fighter jets landed in Croatia earlier on Thursday.
The planes arrived two years and five months after signing a contract with France worth more than one billion euros, and the arrival of the last of the contracted planes is expected at the beginning of next year.
Relations with France Plenković evaluated as “very meaningful” considering the strategic partnership that, he recalled, started in 2010.
“The degree of trust, understanding, and finally the realization of such projects raised our relations to a level that was unimaginable and that is very important. France is today the only permanent member of the Security Council (United Nations) within the European Union ), the only nuclear power, that partnership is good, thoroughly thought out and purposeful in terms of protecting Croatian national interests,” Plenkovi said.
He also referred to the new aircraft, which he said are “state-of-the-art” and have such capabilities that they are “fighters, scouts, tactical and strategic bombers and tankers with two engines”, which the forces of the Croatian Air Force rise to a level “that was unattainable”.
The HRZ military pilot, who flew one of the new planes, told reporters that the weather conditions were not ideal, but that his arrival in Croatia was “a very nice feeling”.
“It took a lot of work, a lot of sacrifices, but in the end I think it was worth it and I’ll say it again: it’s really nice to come home and be a part of all this,” he added.
When asked by a journalist about the difference between the Rafale and the aircraft he has flown so far, he said that as far as the management itself is concerned, “there is no difference”.
“It’s the same, stick, power, the plane behaves like an airplane. Only it’s much more agile, much more lively and has much more power. Something completely different from this one before. In addition, the tactical image and everything that he provided something completely new compared to what we have done so far,” he explained.