The US State Department has approved Croatia's request to purchase eight M142 HIMARS missile launchers.
The systems became known to the general public due to their enormous effectiveness in the war in Ukraine.
The value of the contract, which also includes accompanying equipment, amounts to $390 million, Beta reported.
The system, which the US gave to the Ukrainian army, proved to be very effective and precise in the operations of the Ukrainian forces.
The Croatian army with the HIMARS system will have a range and precision it has not had before. Zagreb will replace the multi-barrel launchers for the 122mm Grad missiles, which have a range of 20 kilometers.
The new system will have guided missiles from the GMLRS family with a minimum range of 15 kilometers that can reach a target 92 kilometers away. The high accuracy is achieved through a navigation system that is GPS corrected.
Pentagon information on the HIMARS to be delivered to Croatia states that the systems will improve the country's potential to "deter current and future threats" and support Croatian operations within NATO.
The Americans estimate that the proposed sale of HIMARS will not fundamentally change the balance of power in the region, although with eight HIMARS Croatia would have a major advantage over other countries that do not have similar assets.
The Serbian army, for example, has four 262 mm Orkan multi-barrel missile launchers with a range of up to 50 km, but the entire battery can only fire 12 missiles at a time, just like two HIMARS units. I BGNES
