Following the Republic of Croatia's decision to continue the equipment of its Armed Forces, the Minister of Defence Ante Kotromanovic and the President of Management Board of Duro Dakovic Group Vladimir Kovacevic signed a contract on the acquisition and equipment of the Armed Forces' combat armoured vehicles with PROTECTOR M151 12.7mm calibre weapon stations today.

The contract is worth HRK 112 million (not including VAT) ($20.9 million) and Đuro Đaković is supposed to deliver the combat armoured vehicles to the Ministry in course of this year and the next.

Đuro Đaković Group has already signed a cooperation contract with the Norwegian Kongsberg Group on the acquisition and mounting of PROTECTOR M151 12.7mm calibre weapon stations, which is the global leader in its segment at the moment due to its characteristics and its widespread use. The cooperation between the two companies was reinforced last year with the agreement about joint development and commercialization of the PROTECTOR Medium Calibre RWS 30mm weapon station.

"Our continued cooperation with Đuro Đaković on the combat armoured vehicle project is another step toward the fulfilment of our vision of the Armed Forces' development in the sense of building and consolidating a small, but modern and mobile army, with the goal of maintaining achieved abilities and developing new ones. On the other hand, this is another confirmation that the Croatian Government and the Ministry of Defence remain firmly dedicated to continuously supporting the Croatian defence industry as one of the most potent Croatian export industries. Accordingly, the Ministry has helped and is going to continue helping Croatian producers and exporters”, Minister Kotromanović said.

"This contract confirms the long-lasting successful cooperation between Đuro Đaković and the Ministry of Defence. We are happy that the Armed Forces are continuing the equipment and modernization of their existing technology relying on Croatian producers as much as possible. Sound cooperation with the local defence forces and sound references in the local market are a prerequisite for defence technology producers' success in the global market. By signing contracts with Finnish Patria and Norwegian Kongsberg on the mounting of Kongsberg's weapon stations on AMV 8x8 vehicles at the Slavonski Brod plants and about joint appearance in the global market, Đuro Đaković joined the exclusive society of producers of defence technology of the highest global renown. This contract is going to be another good reference for us in the foreign markets, the breakthrough to which is this Management Board's focus”, said Đuro Đaković Management Board President Vladimir Kovačević.

Duro Dakovic
29.05.2013