MiG-21 fighter jet crashes during military training flight in Croatia

A Croatian MiG-21 military jet crashed during a training flight Tuesday, the country's Ministry of Defence said. The crash happened in an uninhabited forested area in the northeast of the country around 2 pm (1300 GMT). A search team was looking for the crew, the ministry statement said. As per Croatian officials, both the pilots in the fighter jet safely ejected from the plane that crashed during training.

One pilot suffered undisclosed injuries, officials said, NATO and EU member Croatia has an ageing fleet of some 12 Soviet-made MiG-21s that are due to be replaced with a squadron of French-made Rafale fighter jets. The delivery of the Rafale jets is expected to begin in late 2024, with the first batch of eight and the second batch of four in early 2025.

With inputs from agencies