ZAGREB, August 3, 2018 - Ahead of the planned participation of Israel's F-16 Barak fighter jets in the celebrations marking the 23rd anniversary of Operation Storm, Croatian Air Force squadron commander Christian Jagodić and the commander of Israel's Ramat David Airbase conducted a joint flight in one of Croatia's MiG-21 fighter jets at the Pleso airbase on Friday.

On that occasion Jagodić and the Israeli commander exchanged the flags of each country and appropriate gifts and said that they will always remind them of the joint Croatian-Israeli flight in Croatia.

Defence Minister Damir Krstičević once again thanked the Israeli pilots and delegation for coming to Croatia and underscored that it was a special honour for Israeli and Croatian pilots to stage fly-pasts above Knin during the celebrations on Sunday.

"After our pilot Željko Ninić flew an F-16 in Israel, we have had the opportunity to see an Israeli pilot fly an MiG-21. That is confirmation of our strategic partnership and friendship with Israel. I am pleased that in the period to come our pilots will have the opportunity to learn from the best, and they are Israeli pilots," Krstičević said.

Colonel Jagodić said that this flight is very significant for the Croatian Air Force because it marks the start of military cooperation between fighter pilots, which comes after cooperation between the fire-fighting squadrons in 2016.

The Director of the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israel Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Mishel Ben Baruch, expressed satisfaction with the quality of military cooperation between the two countries and said that the Croatian pilots have shown their excellence which is why, he said, it is an honour to have the opportunity to participate in the 23rd anniversary of Operation Storm in Knin.