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Croatia - MiG-21

In late 2012 the Republic of Croatia made a decision to retain the national capability of the air force control. Consenquently, and also considering the restricted funds available, the Fighter Aircraft Squadron the existing MiG 21 fleet was to be overhauled.

In July 2013 the Croatian Ministry of Defence signed a 133-mil kuna (cca 17.523,788 EUR) worth contract with Ukrspecexport on acquisition and overhaul of 12 MiG fighter aircraft (seven aircraft of the Croatian Air Force and five aircraft acquired from Ukraine). The contract stipulates the 24-month guarantee following the delivery of the aircraft successfully tested and handed over to the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence.

The first of the five MIG-21 aircraft overhauled in Odessa, Ukraine, was delivered by land transportation (via Hungary) to the Pleso Air Base on 12 April 2014. The second MIG 21 BIS departed from Ukraine too and was due to be delivered a week later, while the remaining three completed the tests and their delivery was being prepared, following the preliminary inspections conducted in Ukraine.

On 16 July 2015 the 12th MiG-21 of the Squadron completed the last tests and flight trials, which proved its airworthiness. The MiGs uprade and overhaul have been completed, their life span extended and the Squadron rounded out.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Drago Lovric expressed satisfaction over the Combat Aircraft Squadron rounded out and emphasised the important role of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence in control and protection of the Croatian (and by extension NATO) air space. The 91st Croatian Air Force and Air Defence Base in the "Pukovnik Marko Živkovic“ Barracks at Pleso hosted the presentation of its Fighter Aircaft Squadron on 22 July 2015. The presentation was attended by the Chief of the General Staff, General Drago Lovric, by the NATO AIRCOM USAFE Commander, General Frank Gorenc, the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence Commander, Major General Dražen Šcuri and other senior military officials.

In late March 2016, Croatian media reported that a large scale probe had been launched into the overhaul of a number of its MiG-21 jets in Ukraine due to "the determined irregularities," and that corruption was suspected. The 12 overhauled MiGs entered service in July 2015. Eight months later, only three are available to the Croatian Air Force, Zagreb-based Jutarnji List said, adding that "five have been withdrawn from service." Jutarnji List daily wrote that "many irregularities" had been uncovered so far, while there was "serious suspicion" that "someone received bribes."

The investigation had shown that the aircraft bought from Ukraine are four to five years older than stated in the documents. Croatia sent seven planes to Ukraine to be overhauled - and the newspaper now wonders "if those same planes have returned to Croatia."

On 22 March 2015 the Defence Ministry said the Military Security and Intelligence Agency and the Military Police had recently found out that it was necessary to re-examine the overhaul and procurement of MiG-21 aircraft, adding that tasks were being performed with existing resources and that Croatia's airspace was under control and safe. The ministry said it would continue to act in line with the valid legislation and the demands of relevant state bodies because of serious indications of worrying actions which could affect Croatia's defense capability.

Ukraine's ambassador in Zagreb, Oleksandr Levchenko, stated he was "certain (Ukraine) would refute the scandal related to it." Levchenko said his country was prepared to buy back the 12 jets as it is "defending its independence," while "in a war, any weapon is welcome."

"12 planes for 14 million. The (overhaul) contract was five million euros cheaper for Croatia than the other option. They are nervous because we would not let them snatch those five million euros from Croatia. If somebody determines we should, we will repair them, so far nobody has determined that," said Levchenko.

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. Under the contract, Croatia paid over $21 million to repair and modernize seven Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets at Ukrainian plants, and to purchase another five aircraft of the same type there. But those five MiG-21s were never sold by the Ukrainians “as such,” Jutarnji List newspaper revealed 15 June 2016. In fact, the aircraft were reportedly assembled from dubious obsolete parts coming from all over the world. According to the newspaper’s sources, there were serious indications that their fuselages came from Bulgaria and their wings from Algeria, while fuel tanks were reportedly of Soviet origin.

When Croatian officials came to inspect the five MiGs they wanted to purchase, the Ukrainians substituted the “Lego-like” fighters for jets owned by Yemen, according to the local media.

The overhaul of the seven Croatian jets in Odessa also seemed suspicious from the outset. Under the contract, the air force’s test pilot – Brigadier General Ivan Selak – 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 “overhaul,” the Ukrainians cited a “war situation” and instead returned them by truck in a disassembled form. The military sources told local media they now know for sure that the fighters were simply unable to reach Croatia by air.

Back in Croatia, one of the "repaired" MiGs suffered engine failure while flying at an altitude of 13km, while another jet’s radar reportedly did not work at all. It was further revealed that all the jets still had Soviet-type communication equipment barely compatible with NATO standards. The aircraft also lacked Western-type Identification, Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment required by the Croatian Air Force to conduct NATO missions.

All the MiGs that arrived from Ukraine had been destroyed as the air force did not know where they actually came from, a source close to the investigation told Jutarnji List, without elaborating. As a result, the country has essentially lost a key part of its air force, the newspaper notes.

The Ukrainian deal triggered a scandal inside Croatia’s military elite. Defense Minister Ante Kotromanovic, who was in charge when the agreement was signed in 2013, insists the bidding process was transparent and denies any allegations of wrongdoing: “I’m accused of favoring [the Ukrainian bid]. I’ll shoot myself if anyone can prove that I did so.”

Croatia repaired its seven MiG-21 aircraft in Ukraine and bought five more MiGs, and the total value of the job was around 130 million. In March 2016, USKOK confirmed that it conducted a criminal investigation of the overhaul and acquisition of MiG-21 combat aircraft, after being written in the media by 12 aircraft that in July 2015 came from overhaul in Ukraine only three in operation. The media also claimed that of the MIGs Croatia received from Ukraine 'shredded' serial numbers because they did not match the aircraft documentation or the numbers specified in the overhaul agreement, as well as that the embedded parts of the aircraft did not match the supporting documentation.

The scandal over the purchase and repair of MiG 21 military planes for which the purchase amounted to 132.9 million kuna, represented a gross violation of national security, fraud and shame for all employees in the defense and security system, as well as violation of integrity and fairness in public procurement procedures, according to Transparency International of Croatia [TIH]. "It is not possible that no one has noticed possible corrupt risks, irregularities or deviations from effective procurement in such large, complex and expensive public procurement procedures. In the system of defense and national security Such omissions are unacceptable, embarrassing and humiliating, " the TIH said, with Jutarnji List commenting on the scandal.

After almost half a year of investigation, USKOK filed an indictment against two Croatian nationals for receiving and bribing bribes for the overhaul of Croatian MiG-21 combat aircraft in Ukraine. The Zagreb County Court confirmed on 01 March 2017 the indictment against Josip Covic, the head of the MORH Department of Maintenance and Repairs of the Aeronautical Technical Institute, charged with asking for EUR 50,000 worth of bribes from Ivica Josipovic, a representative of a Ukrainian company that repaired Croatian MIGs.

Uskovic Covic is charged with having "received a cash payment" from the representatives of the two foreign companies ahead of the public procurement decisions, in return for a positive opinion as a member of the Ministry of Defense (MORH) commissions, regardless of the actual technical ability of potential executives and the advantage of overhauling and obtaining additional MiG-21 aircraft.