Official visit of the Commander of the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón to Croatia

• Lieutenant General Juan Pablo Sánchez de Lara has learned first-hand about the work of the Croatian Air Force.

The Commander of the Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón (CAOCTJ), Lieutenant General Juan Pablo Sánchez de Lara, has made an official visit to Croatia as part of his duties as head of NATO's southern European air defence.

The main reason for the visit was the commissioning of the new airborne weapons systems that the Balkan country has acquired and will make available to NATO, in this case the modern French Rafale fighter aircraft, of which the Croatian government will receive twelve units.

This means that the veteran MiG-21 will soon be retired from the Croatian aviation inventory. This Soviet-origin, second-generation aircraft has already become too old to meet the demands of today's air defence mission.

The visit began with a meeting with the head of the Croatian Air Force, Major General Michael Križanec, at which his General Staff was also present. In the briefing that followed, General Križanec outlined the current state of their aviation, as well as the future challenges they face and the plans underway to improve their capabilities.

The delegation then proceeded to the Zagreb Air Control Centre, which reports directly to the CAOCTJ and sends information on the air situation in its area of responsibility. This information is crucial for a quick and agile reaction to any threat that may arise. Lieutenant General Sanchez de Lara also had the opportunity to visit the 191st Fighter Squadron, where plans and challenges to achieve operational capability in the Rafale were discussed. 

During the last day, a visit was made to one of Croatia's air surveillance radars, specifically the one in the town of Sljeme, at an altitude of 1,000 metres. There, General Sánchez de Lara was given a detailed briefing on the radar's capabilities and its contribution to the security of the skies over southern Europe. 

Afterwards, and as part of the commissioning of the Croatian Rafale, an aeronautical festival was held at the 91st Air Base in Pleso, where the Spanish delegation was able to observe the evolution of the Croatian aircraft, with special mention of the Rafale and MiG-21 displays, in one of the last opportunities in Europe to see this aircraft in flight. 

Croatia is one of the countries represented in the CAOCTJ, being located in the Western Balkans, an area of great interest to NATO. By upgrading its air weapon and detection system capabilities, the Croatian Air Force is demonstrating its commitment to the integrated defence of the Atlantic Alliance's southern European flank.