The Croatian Air Force will assume full responsibility for the surveillance and protection of national airspace on 1 January 2026, bringing to an end a multi-year transitional period during which the task relied on allied support. From that date, the Air Policing mission will be carried out continuously, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, by Rafale multirole fighter aircraft, in full compliance with all applicable NATO standards and procedures as well as national regulations.
The entry of the Rafale into full operational service enables Croatia to be fully integrated into the Alliance’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS), further strengthening the security of Croatian airspace while also contributing to collective defence. This represents a significant milestone in the development of the Croatian Air Force and marks the restoration of full sovereignty in one of the core responsibilities of any state – control of its own skies.
During the transitional period, while Croatian pilots and technical personnel were undergoing intensive training for the operational use of the Rafale, the peacetime task of airspace surveillance was temporarily conducted from allied air bases in Italy and Hungary. In that phase, Air Policing was performed by Italian Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and Hungarian Gripen fighters, based on technical agreements between the respective ministries of defence. This arrangement is one of the standard NATO models and did not entail any financial costs for the Republic of Croatia.
Thanks to an intensive training programme, the introduction of new procedures and the establishment of the necessary infrastructure, full readiness has now been achieved for the independent execution of peacetime airspace protection tasks. From the beginning of 2026, Croatian Rafales will be on constant alert, ready to respond to any violation or threat within Croatian airspace, closing an important chapter in the modernisation of the country’s defence system and opening a new phase of operational maturity.
