Croatian Army - Organizational Structure and Status

Organizational Structure and Status

The Croatian Army is an all-volunteer force numbering 16,500 active personnel. The Army can also call on 6000 reserve personnel who serve up to 30 days every year.

The Croatian Army is being reorganized to fit in the NATO doctrine of a small, highly-capable force with an emphasis on mobility and versatility.

Major combatant commands of the Croatian Army are one mechanized and one motorized brigade, each brigade having a specific role and different responsibilities. In 2012 one motorized infantry company is to be detached and put under the command of the EU Battle Group led by Germany. Croatia continues to deploy 350 personnel in support of NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Croatia achieved NATO membership in April 2009. The defence reforms which Croatia initiated in 2000 have a long term goal of replacing and modernizing the armed forces to meet the challenges of NATO membership. The plan calls for modernization of the Army and introduction of the training and doctrine which is in line with Western (NATO) standards. Replacing ex-Yugoslav/Soviet hardware is also one of the main priorities.

There are various ongoing initiatives such as the upgrade of the tank fleet, modernization of obsolete anti aircraft systems, introduction of new Armored Personnel Carriers and NATO standard assault rifles, etc. Procurement of new, NATO-compatible equipment takes a significant part of the defense budget. Croatia plans to spend up to 20 billion kuna (1U$ = 5.0 kuna) on new arms over the next 7 years, of this at least 40% will be spent on the Army. However, the global financial crisis has put pressure on Croatia's public finances and the defense budget will be hard pressed to meet the modernization objectives as planned.

Croatia up until recently operated a total of just under 280 main battle tanks but this number decreased significantly due to the withdrawal of roughly 200 obsolete T-55 tanks in 2006. Most of these units have been scrapped but a limited number has been stored as operational reserve in case of need. The mainstay now is the M-84A4 Snajper main battle tank. However, modernization of the tank fleet is one of the priorities set in the new defense budget so that current tanks can be brought to the M-84D standard.

In July, 2007 Patria AMV won the contract to supply the next generation of APCs to the Croatian Army. Only 84 vehicles were ordered at first but additional 42 were purchased in an extended contract signed in December 2008. Croatia thus has 126 units on order with first six vehicles manufactured in Finland delivered by late 2008. All remaining vehicles will be locally produced. According to some reports at least 50-60 additional APCs are needed. In 2010 an order was placed for an undisclosed number (most probably 56) of M151 Protector remotely controlled weapons stations (RCWS).

In early 2007, Croatia bought 10 Iveco LMV light armoured vehicles at a cost of 330,000 Euros per unit. According to official documents, 94 of these vehicles are needed by 2012 and will be ordered shortly. However, Croatian contingent in Afghanistan continues to rely heavily on US-donated HMMWV and MRAP type vehicles.

Steps have been made to standardize the difficult-to-maintain vehicle inventory of the Croatian military which is full of various models of different origin, type and age. In 2005 the Army bought 152 light trucks and vehicles, 156 in 2006 with additional 170 obtained by the end of 2007. All vehicles are of prominent European or Japanese manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Iveco, MAN, Toyota and Nissan. These purchases are an ongoing process seen as roughly 150-180 new terrain vehicles are procured annually.

The Croatian Army plans to introduce a new assault rifle in 5.56mm NATO caliber to replace the AK-47 and its derivatives. The preferred model seems to be the locally manufactured VHS developed by HS Produkt. It was reported in the media that the MoD has purchased the initial batch of 1000 rifles in 2009-2010. Previous Defense Ministers Rončević and Vukelić both went on record stating the requirement for up to 20,000 rifles. The MoD press and photo releases from regular training activities in 2011 indicate that the VHS has been issued to elements of the Military Intelligence Battalion, Combat Swimmer Detachment of the Special Forces Battalion, as well as to one of the infantry companies of the Guards Motorized Brigade that will be made available to the German-led EU Battle Group in 2012. There have been unconfirmed reports that the rifle is being tested in Afghanistan.