ZAGREB, March 8, 2018 - The Croatian and Hungarian defence ministers, Damir Krstičević and Istvan Simicsko respectively, met in Budapest on Wednesday to discuss ways of strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries.

ZAGREB, March 6, 2018 - European Union defence ministers approved in Brussels on Tuesday the first list of 17 collaborative projects as part of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defence, with Croatia participating in five.

Israeli airplanes, which are reportedly about to be bought, are just ten years younger than the current MIGs and about as old as the MIGs were when, in the middle of last decade, the government began to publicly and seriously consider buying a new fleet.

ZAGREB, February 17, 2018 - Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević has invited NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to visit Croatia and thus be acquainted with the preparedness of the Croatian Armed Forces.

ZAGREB, February 17, 2018 - Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said on Friday that Croatia was systematically increasing its defence budget to reach NATO's goal of 2% of GDP from the present 1.32%.

ZAGREB, February 16, 2018 - Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević said on Thursday, when asked if there might be difficulties if Croatia selected Israeli fighter jets given the political crisis in Israel, that Croatia was considering the bids at state level, making arrangements with a state, so it did not matter who was in power. There is a possibility that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu might be indicted soon.

ZAGREB, February 15, 2018 - Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krstičević held talks with his US, UK, Montenegrin and Polish counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday about bilateral defence cooperation and the modernisation and equipping of the armed forces, the Defence Ministry said in a press release. The talks were held on the fringes of a NATO summit.

ZAGREB, February 5, 2018 - Croatia's Defence Ministry (MORH) on Monday reported that in the matter of 4 MiG 21 fighter jets bought from Ukraine that were grounded for safety reasons, Minister Damir Krstičević, wishing in good faith to resolve the issue, has sent his Ukraine counterpart a proposal that the four jets be replaced with ones that have a state guarantee and that are in order.

ZAGREB, February 2, 2018 - Thirty-five contracts worth over 280 million kuna were signed on Friday with 26 Croatian manufacturers of military equipment, and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who attended the signing ceremony, said that the contracts evidenced the synergy of activities by the Defence Ministry, the Armed Forces, the Croatian business sector and the country's export-oriented defence industry.

ZAGREB, January 25, 2018 - Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, who on Thursday informed lawmakers of the proposed amendments to the Law on Defence, said that the changes were aimed at upgrading and enhancing the defence system and at making Croatia's armed forces stronger and ready for future challenges, whereas a part of the opposition expressed suspicion that the changes would actually usher in conscription.