The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed by the President of Croatia as commander-in-chief while defence policy is overseen by the Government of Croatia. The military supports the foreign policy of Croatia and Croatian security and intelligence system. The Croatian Special Forces are a co-equal tactical command unit.
Since the Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995), the Armed Forces have played a key role in protecting territorial integrity. The military's first foreign deployment was in 2003 – the War in Afghanistan and Iraq War – later joining the military alliance NATO in 2009. Croatia maintains a close security and foreign intelligence relationship with NATO and the United States. The military has deployed to various United Nations (UN), NATO, and American-led missions around the world. Since joining the European Union (EU) in 2013, it became a part of the EU defence forces.
The Armed Forces have seen significant militarization and modernization since the early 2020s due to regional geopolitical risk. Its deep integration within Europe and the U.S. has led to a robust defence industrial base and emerging defence sector. The Croatian military is among the most technologically-advanced in Southeast Europe. Croatia has had military conscription since 2025, previously enacted from 1991 to 2008. The Armed Forces are spread across continental Croatia and capital city Zagreb, with the Navy largely based in Split.
History
Formation in the early 1990s In the late spring of 1991, the first military units of the National Guard Corps were formed, established on 20 April 1991. The Croatian Party of Rights organized its armed detachments, the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS), which were privately armed, relatively trained and trained at the tactical level, and deployed to critical positions on the battlefields. The Party of Democratic Change (ZNG) armed its activists in Istria, the Littoral and Dalmatia, as did the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in other parts of Croatia. In some places, the (TO) ("Territorial Defense") system was reactivated in Zagreb which proved more effective.
These interrelated armed forces were organized into a single Croatian Army (HV) on the basis of the new defence Law, and when the General Staff was established on 21 September 1991, with Chief General Anton Tus as its Chief. At that time, a more systematic mobilization of reserve soldiers and the organization of units, commands and institutions began, as well as the planned use of forces. On 1 October 1991, large military-territorial and combat commands (Operational Zones) were formed with headquarters in Osijek, Bjelovar, Zagreb, Karlovac, Rijeka and Split.
Croatian War of Independence During the Homeland War, the armed forces gradually grew to about 300,000 service-members. Most of the units were filled from the reserve, i.e. from the personnel who acquired basic military knowledge during their compulsory military service in the Yugoslav People's Army. As the war progressed, through clandestine operations, significant amounts of military surpluses created after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact were purchased; in particular, the procurement of combat aircraft of Soviet origin was significant for the formation of the Croatian Air Force. The Air Force had included about twenty MiG 21 aircraft and several Mil Mi-24 combat helicopters. The domestic industry of Croatia was capable of significant independent production of weapons and military equipment. The Croatian Navy was created to a large extent with the successful capture of about a quarter of the Yugoslav Navy vessels in Šibenik in 1991. Swedish RBS-15 anti-ship missiles were captured.
21st century
Following the independence of Croatia in 1990s, the Croatian Armed Forces underwent a series of reforms and modernization programs during the 2000s. The first foreign deployment of Croatian soldiers was to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force Mission (ISAF) in 2003 within Afghanistan. Later that year, they deployed to Iraq – following the American-led invasion of Iraq – for a large-scale stabilization operation. In 2006, the Croatian military led a successful capture of a small group of Taliban rebels in the Afghani city of Kandahar. In 2007, the Croatian government professionalized their Armed Forces by waiving the year's requirement for compulsory military service. The first generation of volunteer conscripts began serving in November 2008, after formal military conscription concluded following its 1991 initiation. In preparation for their eventual ascension into military alliance NATO in 2009, the military emphasized mobility and interoperability. The military heavily redeployed into ISAF during the 2010s, rejoining American-led coalition forces for Resolute Support Mission. Starting in 2017, Croatia joined the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq and Kuwait for Operation Inherent Resolve for nearly a decade to deter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). A Croatian soldier was killed with two others injured after a retaliatory Taliban suicide attack near Kabul in 2019. Modern 21st century military objectives have focused on developing advanced collective defence and security mechanisms, namely: transition to the professionalization of the Croatian Armed Forces, which means replenishment of soldiers voluntarily, and not through conscription; the transition to a collective defence system means a smaller active and reserve composition, but better trained, equipped, compatible and interoperable with allies; the possibility that smaller nations that are members of the Alliance, such as Croatia, can partially "specialize" in order to be able to contribute to joint operations; even greater overall engagement of units and members of the Croatian Armed Forces in collective activities, international missions, and preventive security activities.
The Croatian military significantly expanded during the early 2020s due to the regional Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2024, the Croatian Parliament redeployed soldiers to Iraq for non-combat Iraqi counterterrorism support. Croatia's deep integration within Europe and with the U.S. has led to modernization as well as joint procurement of advanced military assets.
The Croatian Parliament reenacted military conscription in 2025.
The Croatian military entered into a regional defence pact with Albania and Kosovo in 2025. Amid the 2026 U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and the related Israeli incursion into Lebanon, the Croatian government preemptively withdrew its troops from Iraq and Lebanon.
Defence expenditure
In the post-war early 2000s, Croatia moderated its military budget to accommodate nation-building. During the wartime 1990s defence represented a major stake in Croatian public spending due to then ongoing Croatian War of Independence. In 1995, the Croatian defence budget stood 10% of gross domestic product (GDP). Since 1995, Croatia has had the third-highest military expenditure per capita in Southeast Europe according to SIPRI. Approximately €1.14 billion was paid in defence pensions to some 97,000 individuals in Croatia in 2024. Military expenditure has increased markedly, rising 22.2% in 2024 and 18.2% in 2025. Croatia brought its defence budget to 2% of GDP in 2025. It intends to grow defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, commensurate with economic growth in Croatia. It supports bringing defence spending to 5% by 2035. Nearly 29% of defence spending in 2025 will facilitate military modernization to NATO standards, above the 20% NATO obligation.
The defence expenditures of Croatia, summarized for the following years as a component of GDP:
YearDefence expenditure % of GDP % change2021$1.361 billion1.95 38.42022$1.285 billion1.78 5.52023$1.441 billion1.74 12.12024$1.624 billion1.81 12.72025$2.052 billion2.08 26.3
Organization The Armed Forces are divided into branches, services, professions and their specialties. The President is the Commander-in-Chief and exercises administrative powers in times of war by giving orders to the Chief of Staff, while administration and defence policy execution in peacetime is carried out by the Government through the Ministry of Defence. This unified institution consists of land, sea, and air branches referred to as: Croatian Army (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska - HKoV) Croatian Navy (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica - HRM) Croatian Air Force (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo - HRZ) The current structure of the Croatian Armed Forces has been in force since 1 December 2014 and consists of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Croatian Army (HKoV), Croatian Navy (HRM), Croatian Air Force (HRZ), Croatian defence Academy (HVU), Support Command (ZZP), Special Forces Command (ZSS), Military Disciplinary Court (VSS), Military representations (VP) and Headquarter support units (PP).
General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces is a joint body organized within the Ministry of Defence which is responsible for the command, preparation and use of the Armed Forces. General Staff commands the entire Armed Forces in accordance with the dictate of the Commander-in-Chief (President of Croatia) and the Minister of Defence and performs other professional activities for the Commander-in-Chief and the Minister of Defence. It also has a number of units under its direct command, including the ZSS, Honour Guard Battalion and several others. Commands of the branches of the Armed Forces are responsible for the functioning of the branches of the Armed Forces and are responsible for the preparation of subordinate commands and units for the execution of tasks. Branch commands participate in the professional development of personnel and are responsible for the training of active and reserve personnel. Croatian Defence Academy (HVU), also known as the "Dr. Franjo Tuđman", is a higher educational military institution of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. It is responsible for the training of individuals for the needs of the entire Croatian Armed Forces. It is located in the "Petar Zrinski" barracks in the Zagreb district of Črnomerec. Support Command (ZZP) is the most important part of the logistics system of the Croatian Armed Forces and is responsible for the implementation of logistical, medical and part of personnel support for the Croatian Armed Forces. It's responsible for the acquisition and preparation of all State resources allocated to the Armed Forces and for the overall plan of their use and its applicability to operations on the battlefield. Croatian Special Forces Command (ZSS) is one of the three independent commands of the Croatian Armed Forces, subordinate directly to the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. CROSOFCOM mission is to ensure the combat readiness of the special operations forces for operations in defence of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Croatia and to participate in NATO and coalition-led operations. Military representations (VP) represent the Armed Forces and carry out their duties, professional tasks related to participation in the work and monitoring the work of departments, working groups, permanent and temporary bodies at the North Atlantic Alliance, European Union and at the Allied Command Operations and the Allied Command Transformation.