Croatia to Purchase Israel's Old F-16A/B Fighters Second Hand

At the Davos Wolds Economic Forum the Prime Ministers of Israel and Croatia, Benjamin Netanyahu and Andrej Plenkovic, agreed to push forward a deal for the small Middle Eastern state to provide the Eastern European country with second hand F-16 light fighters. While the Israeli Air Force is better known for its elite F-15 air superiority fighters, platforms only ever sold to three of the United States' closest defence partners, the country also retains a considerable fleet of over 200 F-16 Falcon light fighters. Though the F-15 fighters are tasked with giving Israel an edge over near peer threats, for operations against militants in Gaza and other simpler roles the reliable single engine F-16 is more than capable.

With Israel having received its first F-16 fighters in the late 1970s, the first export client for the platforms which it needed to perform a supporting role for the F-15, the country fields both the older A/B variant and the more modern C/D variant. With the country beginning to induct F-35 fifth generation light fighters, these platforms are set to replace the Falcons in fulfilling a complementary supporting role for the F-15. As a result Israel has sought to sell several of its older F-16 fighters, for which Croatia has been a willing client.

According to a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the sale is set to be within the framework of a tender. The second hand F-16 fighters will be worth approximately $500 million, depending on the terms of the tender. With less than a tenth of Israel's defence budget, second hand U.S. fighters' interoperable with the weapons systems of the Croatia's NATO allies could be ideal for the country's armed forces. Croatia notably did not inherit any of Yugoslavia's MiG-29 fighters when the state fragmented, and its combat fleet consists only of twelve Vietnam War era MiG-21 fighters. These fighters were previously extensively upgraded with Israeli assistance to prevent them from becoming obsolete. While the F-16 fighters will hardly provide the Croatian Air Force with any remarkable capabilities, they will be a significant capability upgrade for the small and dated body. Having been modernised while in Israeli service they are more than capable of engaging comparable light fighters fielded by neighbouring states.