Croatian pilots reach sufficient level to take over independent control of airspace

The Republic of Croatia will take over the monitoring and protection of its airspace to conduct these tasks independently. 

The country’s Ministry of Defence has announced this change on their official website, noting that control of the skies will be transfered to its air force starting from January 1, Caliber.Az reports.

Having joined the NATO security alliance in 2009, the task of surveilling Croatia's airspace was being carried out from airbases in neighbouring Italy and Hungary until now with Eurofighter Typhoon and Gripen aircraft. 

"As of January 1, 2026, the Republic of Croatia will take over the surveillance and protection of its own airspace [Air Policing] with Rafale multi-role combat aircraft as part of NATO's integrated air and missile defence system NATINAMDS [NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System]," the statement reads.

The ministry clarified in their announcement that the country did not carry any financial costs for the temporary surveillance of its airspace by the two NATO members, yet underscored that thanks to the "intensive training of personnel in the process of introducing the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft into operational use, the level of readiness for the implementation of the airspace protection task [...] has been achieved" by Croatian pilots.

By Nazrin Sadigova