TSAMTO, November 17th. On November 15, the Swedish company Saab announced the signing of a contract with the Colombian government for the supply of 17 Gripen E/F fighters.
The cost of the order is 3.1 billion. euro. Deliveries are to be completed between 2026 and 2032.
The contract provides for the purchase of 15 single-seat Gripen E and two two-seat Gripen F fighters, as well as related equipment, weapons, training and support services.
Probably, during the final negotiations, the parties reached an agreement on the supply of an additional aircraft, since earlier it was about the purchase of 16 fighters.
At the same time, Saab and the Colombian government signed two offset agreements defining the conditions for the implementation of various projects in the military and social spheres. They cover a package of industrial cooperation in areas such as aviation, cybersecurity, healthcare, energy, and water purification technologies.
Earlier, it was reported that projects for the construction of a solar panel plant in the Cordoba department, the installation of drinking water systems in the La Guajira department, and the rehabilitation and modernization of the San Juan de Dios hospital in Bogota with the installation of modern medical equipment had been approved.
As reported by CAMTO, the tender for the supply of 15 new fighters was announced on July 23, 2019. The aircraft are designed to replace Israeli-made Kfir fighters, which have been in service for about 44 years, and whose service life has almost expired.
At the last stage of the competition, the Colombian Aerospace Forces considered the proposals of three applicants, including the Swedish Saab (JAS-39E/F), the American Lockheed Martin (new F-16C/D Block.70/72 or F-16C/D from the US Air Force) and the French Dassault Aviation (Rafale).
In December 2022, Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez Gomez announced the preliminary selection of the Rafale fighter as the winner, but in January 2023 negotiations with Dassault Aviation were interrupted due to the excessively high cost of the proposal.
As a result, in April 2025, the JAS-39E/F Gripen was chosen as the preferred candidate. In October 2025, the Colombian government cited the main reason for choosing Saab's offer as being the most cost-effective. At the same time, the decision was criticized by both political opponents of the current government and a number of military analysts, who questioned the need to purchase aircraft at an inflated cost at a time when the country is experiencing a serious economic crisis and is prone to internal security problems.
Another issue is the presence of a significant number of American and Israeli-made components in the aircraft design. Recall that in September of this year, the Colombian government announced the suspension of purchases of weapons systems manufactured or containing components from the United States. The United States, in turn, suspended military assistance to Colombia in October, citing the loss of control by the country's authorities in the field of countering drug trafficking. Similarly, in 2024, Colombia stopped purchasing Israeli weapons.
