ZAGREB, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Croatia said on Wednesday that it has sent requests to seven countries to bid for contracts to supply fighter jets.
The Croatian government said in a statement that an interdepartmental commission for the procurement of multi-purpose aircraft asked the United States (F-16) and Sweden (JAS Gripen) to bid for new jets, while France (Rafale), Italy (Eurofighter), Norway, Greece, and Israel (F-16) were asked to bid for used aircraft.
The government said the commission expects to receive initial replies in May, and will complete its evaluation in August.
Croatia, a NATO member, is determined to procure fighter jets after a deal with Israel failed in January 2019.
In March 2018, Croatia reached a 3.1 billion kuna (about 477 million U.S. dollars) deal with Israel to purchase 12 upgraded used F-16 Barak jets. However, the government dropped the agreement after Israel failed to get approval from Washington.
