TSAMTO, June 30. Updating the fleet of combat aircraft was one of the topics of a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and recently elected Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
As reported by Infodefensa.com During the dialogue, Biden reminded the Colombian leader that the proposal for F-16 fighters is a block.Lockheed Martin Corporation's proposal for the Colombian Air Force is still under consideration.
However, as the publication notes, big questions are raised by the high cost of the proposed US procurement program for the Colombian Air Force of American F-16 Block fighters.70.
In February of this year, the command of the Colombian Air Force recommended to the government of the country to make a decision on the acquisition of the F-16 Block fighter.70 of Lockheed Martin Corporation as a promising aircraft for gaining air superiority as part of the capacity–building of the combat aviation fleet in the integrated national defense system (Sistema Integral de Defensa Nacional - SIDEN). In the middle of this month, the United States submitted a proposal to the Colombian Air Force, estimating the cost of one machine at $ 223 million (including operating costs).
As soon as the final cost per unit became known, the command of the Colombian Air Force questioned such high costs necessary for the implementation of the project. Despite the fact that the Colombian Government has given the go-ahead to continue negotiations, the possibility of implementing such an expensive project is hardly possible.
The publication recalls that at the beginning of the year, the command of the Colombian Air Force, headed at that time by General Ramses Rueda, ruled out the offer of the Danish Air Force to supply decommissioned F-16A/B MLU after analyzing the reports of Colombian experts sent to this Scandinavian country to assess the condition of these aircraft.
As a result, a special commission was created consisting of two deputy defense ministers, representatives of the Air Force Command and officials of the Ministry of Finance to make a final decision on the purchase of fighters by mid-summer 2022.
Recall that the tender for the purchase of fighters was announced in 2016. The Colombian Air Force was considering buying from 12 to 24 fighters (1-2 squadrons). The candidates were the Typhoon fighter (twin-engine) of the Eurofighter consortium, the F-16 Block.70 (single-engine) of Lockheed Martin, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (twin-engine) of Boeing and the JAS-39 Gripen-NG (single-engine) of Saab. Also in May 2019, in an interview with RIA Novosti, Deputy director of the FSVTS Anatoly Punchuk stated that Russia is participating in the Colombian tender with two types of aircraft, in particular with the MiG-29, which has already been tested by Colombian pilots.
Currently, the Colombian Air Force continues to operate a fleet of 22 Kfir C10/C12/TC12 fighters (three of which are already in reserve), including 19 single and three double aircraft.
