WARSAW, Poland – The Croatian Ministry of Defense has submitted requests for proposals to acquire “multi-purpose combat aircraft” to the U.S., Israel, South Korea, Sweden and Greece, the ministry said in a statement.

Zagreb is considering to purchase new or second-hand F-16s from either the U.S., Israel or Greece, acquire South Korean FA-50s, or buy Sweden’s Saab JAS-39 Gripens. Contrary to earlier reports by the local media, France’s Mirage and Israeli Kfir were not included in the RFP.

Potential proposals are to be submitted by Oct. 3, and the first fighters are to be delivered to the Croatian Air Force by late 2020. The ministry reportedly aims to purchase at least 18 fighters to replace its outdated Soviet-designed aircraft.

“After we receive the proposals, the submitted proposals will be analyzed in the next few months, and the key parameters in the selection procedure, aside from the characteristics and capabilities of the aircraft, will comprise three segments: intergovernmental contract, price, and the business-economic cooperation package,” the statement said.

Before the RFP was sent out, Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Damir Krstičević discussed the procurement with his U.S. counterpart on July 12 during his official visit to Washington.

“I informed [U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim] Mattis on our prospective decision to procure new fighter aircraft. It is my duty as Defence Minister to restore the capability of [Croatia’s] fighter aircraft [fleet],” Krstičević said, as quoted in the ministry’s statement.

On a related note, on July 24, Krstičević said he withdrew his letter of resignation. This came six days after the minister offered his dismissal over accusations of the military’s slow response to the fires that recently ravaged southern Croatia.

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