The Croatian Air Force will be showing off equipment old and new during an airshow at Zagreb International Airport next month.
Photo: City of Velika Gorica (via Facebook)
The third edition of AIRVG will take place in front of Zagreb’s old terminal building on the 11th May 2024, with up to 50,000 people expected to attend. The highlight of the show will be the participation of various MiG-21s; a MiG-21 bis D is expected to perform in the flying display, while at least one example each of the MiG-21 bis D, MiG-21R and MiG-21 UMD are listed as static display participants.
Croatia is the last remaining MiG-21 operator in Europe; over the past few decades, the air arm has repeatedly purchased upgraded second- or third-hand MiGs from other nations as a cheaper alternative to either upgrading its own fleet or investing in newer aircraft. However, it now appears that possibly as few as four jets could be active, and although no official retirement date has been published, the type is widely expected to finally be withdrawn from active use in the coming weeks. This means AIRVG is very likely to be the last airshow appearance of a military-operated MiG-21 in Europe.
Croatia’s MiG-21s are being replaced by the single-seat Rafale EC and twin-seat Rafale DC. The first six of an eventual 12 Rafales arrived in Croatia today (Thursday 25th April) and the type is slated to appear in both the flying and static display at AIRVG.
Also appearing on the official flying display list are the Krila Oluje aerobatic team flying six PC-9Ms, as well as the Zlin 242L, Bell 206B, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and Mi-171Sh. Additionally, three helicopters (an Mi-171Sh, OH-58D and UH-60M) will participate in a Combat Search & Rescue scenario.
The show will be open to the public from 12:00-18:00, with the flying display running from 15:00-18:00. The displays will be intermixed with regular commercial air traffic. Ticketing information is yet to be released.
This is the third edition of AIRVG, but the first to be held at an airport. Previous AIRVG events, held in 2017 and 2018, were located at the Croatian Aeronautical Technical Centre, one mile to the southeast.
AIRVG2024 is being organised jointly by the Croatian Ministry of Defence, Zagreb International Airport and the City of Velika Gorica, the self-styled Croatian “City of Aviation”, which is home to the international airport and its associated air base, as well as the Aeronautical Technical Centre. It intials – ‘VG’ – also give the airshow its name.
We will be covering AIRVG 2024 in an episode of our Airshow Dispatches series, which is coming soon to our YouTube channel.