Colombia selects Saab Gripen to replace IAI Kfirs

Colombia's Kfir C10s are all but obsolete. Replacing them with new aircraft has taken a decade in fits and starts. (USAF)

Colombia has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Sweden to purchase the Saab JAS 39E/F Gripen, according to a 2 April social media post by Colombian President Gustavo Petro. The Gripen is intended to replace the Colombian Air Force's (Fuerza Aérea Colombiana: FAC's) Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) Kfir fleet to become the country's primary fighter-bomber aircraft.

Colombia is seeking 16–24 Gripens, with a likely contract value of at least EUR2 billion (USD2.2 billion), a source with knowledge of the selection told Janes . Negotiations between the Colombian government and Saab, which will determine the fleet's price and weaponry, are to be finalised “in the months to come”, Saab's CEO Micael Johansson told reporters on 3 April.

An FAC official said that the Gripens would replace “some capabilities that we have not yet lost but are declining.” The FAC operates 16 Kfir C10s, according to Janes World Air Forces database.

The FAC began to seek a replacement for the Kfirs over a decade ago and, in the process, has evaluated the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, MiG-35, and Lockheed Martin F-16.

“This decision has been studied for decades … we thank the countries that were interested in presenting the different offers,” Colombia's Minister of National Defense Pedro Sánchez told reporters on 3 April. The FAC is likely to operate the aircraft for at least 35 years, Sánchez continued, which contributed to the decision to purchase new aircraft versus used ones.