The Croatian Air Force has aquired 12 (2 B and 10 C variants) Rafale F-3R fighter jets in order to replace its aging fleet of MiG 21’s which have been in service since the country gained independence in the early 90’s. Since the MiG is no longer competitive on the modern battlefield and its service life has been extended multiple times over the years, the Croatian Ministry of Defence has decided to purchase a new aircraft for its air policing mission. Multiple offers were considered including Swedish Gripens, Israeli F-16’s, American F-35’ and the French Rafale F-3R which was finally chosen due to its ability to perform a multitude of missions ranging from air to air, air to ground and air to sea making it the perfect aircraft for a small air force such as the one Croatia operates. The first airframe was delivered on April 25. 2024. and the last one a year later on April 25. 2025. The completed squadron could be seen on display at Franjo Tuđman airbase during AirVG 2025.
Featuring the Croatian 191.Squadron “Knight” emblem under the cockpit and a checkerboard pattern on the vertical stabilizer with the Croatian Coat of Arms. It would make a great addition to the game,offering more variety for the Rafale as well as representation of another nation that is yet to come War Thunder.
There are several examples on WT Live, this one being my favourite:
No such thing as “enough”. Also,most of those are french display camos or fictional,it would be nice to have more historical skins that represent different air forces.
Short update: As of January 1st, 2026, Croatian Rafales have reached the stage of full operational capability and are now responsible for protecting the nation’s airspace—which was performed by Italy and Hungary during the transition period—as part of the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System that the Croatian Rafales are now a part of. Croatia has also signed a letter of intent to upgrade its fleet to the F4 standard.
