Croatia paid over $21 million to repair and modernize seven Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets at Ukrainian plants under the contract, and to purchase another five aircraft of the same type there.
According to Jutarnji List newspaper, Croatia bought Soviet-era MiG-21 jets assembled from old parts by Ukraine.
Jutarnji reports, if it is proved, the Croatian defense minister has threatened to shoot himself.
Recently, Croatian security services and the Defense Ministry have launched an investigation into a 2013 military deal with a Ukrainian company, which is said to have undermined the air force’s combat capabilities.,
Croatia paid over $21 million to repair and modernize seven Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets at Ukrainian plants under the contract, and to purchase another five aircraft of the same type there.
Jutarnji said that those five MiG-21s were never sold by the Ukrainians “as such”, in fact, the aircraft were reportedly assembled from dubious obsolete parts coming from all over the world.
There were serious indications that their fuselages came from Bulgaria and their wings from Algeria, while fuel tanks were reportedly of Soviet origin, according to the newspaper’s sources.
Croatian local media said that when Croatian officials went to inspect the five MiGs they wanted to purchase, the Ukrainians substituted the “Lego-like” fighters for jets owned by Yemen.
However, the seven Croatian jets in Odessa also seemed suspicious. Under the contract, the air force’s test pilot had to perform flight tests of the “repaired” jets before final handover, but the Ukrainians never allowed him to fly, using “bad weather” or “risk of flying over populated areas” as an excuse. Finally, when the jets were about to fly back to Croatia following the jet scandal, the Ukrainians cited a “war situation” and returned them by truck in a disassembled form.
I suppose now Croatia will try to on sell them to another neighboring sucker state (Albania?) as “recently modernized good to go jet fighters”. From one Mafia state to another and another. How laughable is that.
I don’t think they will accept them. The croatians should have continued their cooperation with Aerostar Bacau and bring their MiG’s to the Lancer standard. The ukrainians had (maybe still have) issues with their BTR-4s for Irak as well.