ZAGREB, 6 August, 2022 - Croatia plans to buy a €500 million naval ship, the Jutarnji List daily reports in its Sunday issue.
Speaking of plans for the future equipment of the Croatian Army, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Knin on Friday that Croatia was planning to buy a multipurpose warship.
This is the first time the government has officially confirmed plans for the procurement of a vessel, a corvette, for the Croatian Navy.
Naval experts have been working for some time now on defining the technical characteristics of the vessel and its purpose. Its procurement is expected to be included in the next long-term plan for the development of the Armed Forces.
The government has opted for a new ship, abandoning previous plans to buy a used ship.
Plans for the procurement of a corvette for surface, submarine and air warfare were announced at the end of 2021 by the Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff, Admiral Robert Hranj.
The vessel would be used for the protection of the state border but the Croatian Navy would also use it for possible navigation in the Mediterranean and even on oceans.
The corvette would be around 100 metres long and it would be the longest Croatian Navy ship.
According to Hranj, the ship could join the Croatian Navy between 2025 and 2030.
Corvette is a naval vessel around 100 metres long, equipped with several medium and small calibre guns as well as surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and antisubmarine weapons. It can carry one naval helicopter.
