Official handover ceremony of the first Rafale multirole combat aircraft in France

The official handover ceremony of the first Rafale multirole combat aircraft, i.e. the transfer of ownership between the French Republic and the Republic of Croatia, will take place on Monday, October 2, 2023, in France.

The ceremony at the French Air Force Base Mont-de-Marsan will be attended by Defence Minister Mario Banožić together with the Head of the Office of the Prime Minister Zvonimir Frka-Petešić and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian War Veterans Tom Medved and a delegation of the Croatian Armed Forces led by the Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces General Staff Admiral Robert Hranj.

It is the first of the 12 Rafale aircraft, a twin-engine multirole combat aircraft of the 4.5+ generation of the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation, which the Republic of Croatia is acquiring from the French Republic for the needs of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence.

After the official reception ceremony of the Rafale aircraft in France, the Croatian pilots will fly to the Bordeaux Training Center, where further training will be conducted for employees of the aviation technical service and the Croatian Air Force pilots.

For more information on the introduction into operational use of the Rafale multirole combat aircraft, please visit the following website: https://www.morh.hr/avion-rafale-za-moderno-hrvatsko-ratno-zrakoplovstvo/