ZAGREB, 23 June 2022 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Thursday during a working visit to the Croatian Navy at the "Admiral Sveto Letica-Barba" barracks in Split commented on the upcoming Defence Strategy of the Republic of Croatia and Long-Term Development Plan of the Croatian Armed Forces.

Thanking the members of the Croatian Navy (HRM) for impeccably carrying out their duties, the defence minister said that the Croatian government would continue to pursue a policy of strengthening the capabilities of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MORH) said.

He recalled that many measures had been adopted with regard to the improvement of the material rights and living and working conditions of soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers, and that since 2016 the salaries of active military personnel had been rising continuously every year, MORH said.

Banožić said that amendments to the law regulating the service in the Croatian Army introduced the first, two-year fixed-term, contract for sailors and soldiers and after that the next contract as permanent one.

"The new solution provides job safety and the possibility of life planning with all the rights related to permanent employment. In 2020 and 2021, 70 sailors were employed in this way," the defence minister said.

He also underscored significant investments in the Croatian Armed Forces, such as the procurement of multi-purpose fighter jets and the Black Hawk helicopters for the Croatia Air Force, Bradley fighting vehicles for the Croatian Ground Army, and the construction of patrol vessels for the Croatian Navy.

Patrol vessels will improve the ability to monitor and protect the rights and interests of Croatia at sea, the minister said.

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As Morski writes on the 18th of November, 2018, the Vukovar warship, along with the Dubrovnik ship of the same class, has been part of the Croatian Navy for the past ten years.

Its service in the Finnish Navy was withdrawn in 2007 and the vessel was sold to Croatia for nine million euros, as part of Croatia's "offset" program for the procurement of Armored Patria vehicles. Otherwise, "Vukovar" is the first Croatian warship to successfully serve in a NATO mission.

The Helsinki class rocket launchers are a type of rocket launcher used by the Finnish Navy. There were a total of four vessels built in this class, with the Helsinki class following the Rauma rocket launcher class. All ships of this class were built at the Wärtsilä Hietalahti Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.

The ship has a 300 tonne load dispacement, is 45 metres long, 8.8 metres wide, and boasts a three-metre long beam. It is equipped with three MTU 16V 538 TB92 diesel engines of 9,000 kW, and can reach a speed of 32 knots.

The ship is staffed by 33 members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, and the commander of "Vukovar" is Ante Uljević.

As mentioned, Croatia's "Vukovar" rocket launcher is the first Croatian Navy vessel to take part in a NATO operation and has covered more than 4,100 nautical miles. In the Sea Guardian operation, it covered the most miles between the ships in the tactical group, and covered an area of about 180 nautical miles, and an average of 100 nautical miles from the western coast of Sicily to the coast of Tunisia, and then towards Malta.

It's a little known fact that in the Croatian Navy, a torpedo ship of the same name was in use until the year 2000, known as TB-51 Vukovar. It was built at the Kraljevica Shipyard back in 1971 and was initially put into service in the Yugoslav Navy under its original name TČ-222 Partizan II. The ship was renovated in 1991 in Šibenik where it was put into the service of the Croatian Navy under the name Vukovar. The crew of the ship consisted of twelve officers and twelve sailors. The ship was eventually withdrawn from service in the year 2000 and was stored in Brižine, near Split.

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A pretty cool expedition is underway in the waters of Lošinj these days