Advisory panel recommend Croatia buy FA-50 or Gripen

An expert panel has recommended that Croatia should look at the Saab Gripen or KAI FA-50 as its next fighter aircraft, Jutarnjeg lista reports.

JAS 39 Gripen lyfter fran F17 i Kallinge Sverige (1)
Johannes Jansson/norden.org [CC BY 2.5 dk], via Wikimedia Commons

Four options were considered beside these two. Second-hand F-16s from Israel and the Rafale. The panel ruled out buying the F-16 and Rafale.

The article said Sweden has offered generous loan terms to Croatia if the Gripen is selected. Croatia can take up to 15 years to repay the loan with a three-year grace period. The Swedish Air Force is also willing to loan four jets to Croatia while it waits for Saab to manufacture the aircraft.