Defence Expert Plays Down Croatia-Serbia 'Arms Race'

Although Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic has announced the purchase of new military jets for Croatia's air force, the idea is still far from realisation, a defence analyst said.

Grabar Kitarovic announced the news on Saturday in an interview for the daily newspaper Vecernji list.

She said the purchase of US military transport Black Hawk helicopters was already agreed, and there was also a consensus within the government to purchase new fighter jets soon.

Igor Tabak, from the Croatian defence and security website Obris, told BIRN that the President does not have the ultimate jurisdiction on purchasing new jets, however.

"She may have some influence on the issue with her advice to the government, but the whole thing is absolutely in the domain of the government," he said.

It remained premature to talk about purchasing military jets when the government had not decided if it wants to maintain the fighting capability of its air force, Tabak cautioned.

He continued that even the after passage of such a decision, another decision on what types of jets would be purchased would have to follow before the purchase itself.

Croatia's daily Jutarnji list reported on Wednesday that the advisory team within the defence ministry had suggested keeping fighter jets and buying either Swedish Gripen or South Korean FA-50 jets.

Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic on Thursday said that Croatia needed fighter jets and promised that both decisions - on keeping fighting jets as part of the air force and a decision on the type to be purchased - will be made in 2017.

According to Tabak, governments had avoided making this decisions for a decade because the issue of modernisation of the jets is complicated and expensive and would...