Minister Anušić at the Paris Air Show 2025 with Dassault Aviation’s chairman and CEO
Additional cooperation with Dassault, the producer of the Rafale multirole combat aircraft, was the topic of the meeting
On the sidelines of the Paris Air Show 2025, an international display of military equipment and weapons taking place at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, today, 17 June 2025, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and Minister of Defence Ivan Anušić met with Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. The Croatian Air Force currently possesses all 12 Rafale multirole combat aircraft (two two-seaters and ten single-seaters) after completing its fighter squadron this year. Last year, Croatian Air Force pilots and aviation technicians successfully finished their training in France.
Throughout the day, Minister Anušić visited with a number of companies that the Ministry of Defence has been working with since purchasing 12 used Rafales. These businesses manufacture air defence systems and equip and arm these combat aircraft.
“We resumed our discussions with companies today about how to modernise and enhance the Rafale. These are the companies that equip the Rafale – Safran, Thales, MBDA and, of course, a we had a meeting with Dassault. The acquisition of more weapons and equipment was one of the topics we discussed,” Minister Anušić stated. He clarified that this included the required medium-range air defence as well as equipping the Rafales with additional equipment.”
“The Rafales are multirole combat aircraft with an extensive range of weaponry, equipment, and capabilities. These armament ranges and their capabilities are exactly what we are talking about right now,” Minister Anušić stated. Additionally, he reaffirmed that the Ministry of Defence is still actively modernising and equipping the Croatian Armed Forces and that the contract for the purchase of the first 18 Caesar self-propelled howitzers is scheduled to be finalised in the autumn. The Ministry of Defence and the Government of the Republic of Croatia are continually investing over three billion euros in the modernization of the CAF, and historic procurements are underway – from Bayraktars, the most contemporary Leopard 2 A8 tanks, and the powerful HIMARS missile system. Croatia spent 2% of its GDP on defence this year, with plans to increase that amount to 3% by 2030.
