Colombia and Sweden Sign Contract for the Supply of Gripen Fighters

Colombia and the Swedish company Saab have signed a contract for the supply of 17 Gripen fighter jets after Swedish banks agreed to provide the country with a loan to pay for the contract.

This was reported by Colombian media outlet La FM, citing its own sources.

According to the publication, although the initial agreement provided for 16 aircraft, one more was added before the deal was finalized. The negotiations were finalized after Colombia received approval from Swedish banks to finance the contract payment.

The contract, worth 16 trillion pesos (USD 4.24 billion), is to be paid by the Colombian state until 2032. The first payment of 100 billion pesos ($26.5 million) is due in 2026.

Deliveries of the Gripen fighter jets, which will replace the Kfir, will begin in 2027 and end in 2032.

A source close to the negotiations confirmed that although President Gustavo Petro had insisted that the first aircraft arrive in Colombia in 2026 for a presentation during his administration, this was not achieved.

It has not been directly reported what model of the aircraft will be supplied to Colombia. Earlier, the President of Colombia assured the citizens of the country that these are “brand new modern combat aircraft that are already successfully operating in the Brazilian Air Force”. That is, we are talking about the latest versions of the JAS-39 Gripen E/F.

The government is expected to officially announce the deal during the Colombian Air Force’s anniversary celebration to be held on Friday, November 14, in Cali.

In November 2024, the Swedish company Saab, with its JAS-39 Gripen fighter jet, became the frontrunner in a Colombian tender to replace about 20 Kfir aircraft purchased three decades ago. This is an Israeli multi-purpose fighter created on the basis of documentation stolen by the Mossad for the French Dassault Mirage III aircraft.

In December 2022, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that the country would purchase new fighters to replace the Kfir, despite the fact that the project was not a priority before the new administration came to power in August.

Colombia initially considered French Rafale fighters. Later, plans for Danish F-16s were also announced.

A year later, the country began planning to order used Spanish Typhoon multi-role fighters. However, later on, it was only about purchasing new aircraft in the amount of 16 units.