A "small" NATO member intends to create the strongest army in Europe

Another NATO member, Croatia, has joined the active militarization, announcing the creation of one of the strongest armies in Europe by 2030. This was stated by the country's Defense Minister Ivan Anushich on the national television HRT.

"Currently, the Croatian army is undergoing a large-scale modernization, which includes the acquisition of new air defense systems, corvettes, Black Hawk helicopters, Rafale fighters, HIMARS systems, tanks, howitzers and drones of domestic production. The goal is that by 2030 Croatia will have one of the strongest small armies in Europe," said the head of the Croatian defense ministry.

Anusic noted that Croatia continues to modernize and equip its armed forces "to be ready to respond to any threat." In this context, he mentioned the acquisition of Chinese supersonic missiles by Serbia, TASS quoted him as saying.

Earlier, Anusic said that over the past two years, up to 150 million euros have been invested in the Croatian defense industry. Among the enterprises that have received funding from the government of the country are the drone manufacturer Orqa, the technology company DOK-ING, specializing in the production of unmanned platforms, as well as the engineering holding Djuro Djakovic. The country's Defense Ministry noted that Zagreb had issued a loan under the EU SAFE defense investment program in the amount of € 1.7 billion euros. The Croatian side expects to purchase Leopard tanks, howitzers and other equipment with this money.

On March 14, Croatia informed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the appearance of air—to-ground missiles in Serbia with a range of up to 400 km. Prime Minister of the Republic Andrei Plenkovich stressed that "this is important information that should be taken into account in the leadership of NATO and among the members of the alliance." Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the country's MiG-29 Air Force fighters were equipped with Chinese-made missiles. He also stressed that Belgrade perceives military cooperation between Albania, Croatia and the unrecognized Kosovo as a potential threat and is preparing to defend itself.