Croatia will soon sign a contract to buy a nationwide system to protect critical infrastructure from hostile drones, Defence24 reported on October 19, 2025. Minister of Defence Ivan Anuszić announced the planned purchase at the Defence24 Days conference, saying the package will include an operations centre, radars, drone interceptors and 30-millimetre guns, and that the whole solution will be fully automated. According to Croatian media coverage cited by the minister, the deal will provide two fixed and two mobile counter-drone systems at a total value of roughly €115 million, and will be signed with a domestic defence company in December.
Anuszić framed the acquisition as a necessary response to an emerging threat, stressing that unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles that enter Croatian airspace without permission “should be shot down.” He argued that the risk is real: even small drones can carry explosive payloads and strike vital facilities, so robust defensive systems are required to protect the country’s power, transport and communications networks. The minister did not disclose further technical details of the contract, citing procurement confidentiality, but emphasised that the capability will combine detection, command and kinetic defeat in an integrated, automated architecture.
The announced mix of fixed and mobile systems suggests that Zagreb wants both permanent coverage for key sites and deployable units able to react to evolving threats or protect temporary high-risk events. Inclusion of radars and an operational centre points to an emphasis on early detection and command-and-control integration, while interceptors and 30-mm guns indicate a layered approach to neutralising small and medium-sized aerial targets. Automation, the ministry said, should speed response times and reduce the risk of human error in fast-moving drone engagement scenarios.
The move comes amid growing European concern about the proliferation of armed and commercially modified unmanned aerial systems. In early October Anuszić also stated that Croatia is prepared to scale up domestic production of FPV (first-person-view) drones to the order of millions per year; he noted current annual production of roughly 200,000 units that are already in use by Croatian forces and exported to partners including Bulgaria, the United States, France and Saudi Arabia. That production profile underlines a broader national interest both in offensive unmanned capabilities and in developing the means to defend against similar threats.
The stated €115 million price tag places Croatia’s programme among significant but not exceptional recent European investments in counter-UAS capabilities. By opting to contract a national firm, Zagreb appears intent on preserving industrial know-how and supporting the local defence sector, while acquiring technology it judges essential for national resilience. The balance between kinetic options (guns, interceptors) and sensors/command systems will determine how resilient the deployed architecture is against swarms, small FPV drones and more advanced threats that combine loitering munitions with electronic warfare.
Although the minister’s comments were unequivocal about the need to shoot down unauthorised drones, the announcement raises policy and legal questions that many countries are still wrestling with: rules of engagement in peacetime, liability for damage caused by downed drones, and safeguards to prevent mistakes against civilian unmanned systems. Croatian authorities will need to translate the programme’s technical ambition into clear operational procedures and legal frameworks governing use of force in peacetime airspace.
For now, Zagreb’s decision signals an assertive national response to a changing threat environment: a programme intended to protect critical infrastructure through a modern, layered and largely automated counter-drone capability, underpinned by domestic procurement and bolstered by a parallel expansion of Croatia’s own unmanned systems industry.
