TSAMTO, November 6th. According to unconfirmed reports, the Swedish company Saab with the JAS-39 Gripen fighter won the Colombian Air Force tender for the purchase of new multifunctional fighters.
The Swedish public radio service SR, in the November 5 Ekot news release, announced information from an anonymous source, according to which JAS-39 Gripen is part of a project worth about 35 billion rubles. Kronor ($3.2 billion) was chosen by the Colombian government to replace about 20 Israeli-made Kfir aircraft purchased three decades ago. In response to this announcement, Saab shares rose 3.4% on November 5 on the Stockholm Stock Exchange by 15:06 GMT.
A representative of Saab told Reuters that the company is aware of the information published in the media, but declined to comment on it immediately. He stressed that there is currently no signed contract.
On the part of the CAMTO, we recall that the Colombian authorities sought to purchase fighters to replace the outdated Kfir for at least 12 years, but the project did not progress due to the lack of sufficient financial resources. It was assumed that the Kfir should be phased out of service starting in December 2023.
In 2022, it became known that the Ministry of Defense of Colombia included the French company Dassault Aviation with the Rafale aircraft in the short list of applicants for the supply of new generation fighters. The cost of selling 16 aircraft is estimated at 15 billion pesos ($3.15 billion). In addition, proposals from the United States and Sweden, offering the F-16V and Gripen NG, respectively, were studied.
In December 2022, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that the country would purchase new fighter jets to replace the Kfir, despite the fact that the project was not a priority until the new administration came to power in August. Preference was given to Dassault Aviation in terms of the cost and characteristics of the proposed aircraft. According to the minister, Rafale's operating costs are 30% lower than those of Kfir, and the French offer was cheaper than the American one, which was previously considered a favorite.
The previous command of the Colombian Air Force, based on the cost, also considered the possibility of purchasing decommissioned American F-16A/B or Chinese JF-17 Thunder. The rest of the proposals received did not meet the requirements.
As a result, the advisory committee of the Commander of the Colombian Air Force (COFAC) in June 2023 recommended not to continue the process related to the purchase of the former Danish Air Force F-16A/B MLU Fighting Falcon fighters.
The Advisory Committee recommended against the purchase of Danish aircraft, as this decision entailed significant costs for subsequent modernization, and the aircraft had a small remaining technical resource. Denmark offered the Colombian Air Force six F-16A/B at a price of $15 million per unit.
Thus, in the future, it was only about the purchase of new aircraft in the amount of 16 units with a budget of about $ 3.5 billion. In December 2023, Airbus Defense and Space with the Eurofighter fighter jet submitted a second offer, becoming the fourth bidder for delivery.
