Colombia close to Gripen E/F order?
October 21, 2024
Local Colombian media has reported that the Colombian government is close to announcing the selection of the Saab Gripen E/F to replace the country’s ageing IAI Kfir fighter-bombers, perhaps as soon as November 2024.
Recent negotiations between the governments of Colombia, Sweden and Brazil, have reportedly agreed a funding mechanism that will support the acquisition of 24 aircraft, believed to consist of 22 Saab Gripen E fighters and two Saab Gripen F two-seat combat-capable trainers.
Colombia originally selected the Dassault Rafale as its planned future fighter, but the planned 16-aircraft purchase collapsed due to credit issues. Since then, the new Colombian president has repeatedly made it clear that the replacement of the Kfirs was not a priority, even though the Colombian Kfirs will soon reach the end of the service lives, and are becoming increasingly costly to operate and difficult to support. Operating costs have been estimated at more than US $25,000 per flying hour, and six aircraft have been withdrawal to be stripped for much-needed spares. This situation has been exacerbated by deteriorating political relations between Colombia and Israel.
Despite lukewarm Presidential support, the fighter competition was relaunched, with some suggesting that the Lockheed-Martin F-16 Block 70/72 was at one time the preferred choice of the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force), though the Saab JAS 39 Gripen E, Eurofighter Typhoon (probably second-hand Spanish Air Force Typhoons) and Dassault Rafale all had their own advantages as competitors. The Gripen reportedly achieved lower scores in the FAC evaluation compared to the Eurofighter, F-16 and Rafale in some respects, but scored highly in the financing element of the scoring. The F-16V reportedly failed to impress in terms of electronic warfare systems and sovereign mission data capabilities, while Lockheed Martin were unable to guarantee the integration of key Israeli weapons already in the FAC inventory, including the Python 5, and Derby AAMs and Spice PGMs.
If the purchase goes ahead, it is understood that Colombia’s Gripens would be produced in Brazil, which acquired manufacturing rights as part of the agreement made with the purchase of its own Gripens.
The Brazilian Gripen programme has been the subject of some controversy, with some delivery delays, and reported operability concerns from the Brazilian Air Force. The relatively high cost of the Gripen (designated as the F-39E, locally) has reportedly led the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) to consider a potential purchase of 24 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons, instead of an additional batch of locally built new-build Gripen Es. Negotiations with the US government are understood to have begun.
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has already dispatched five F-39E fighters operated by the Jaguar squadron to Natal Air Base for Brazil’s multinational Cruzeiro do Sul exercise (CRUZEX), which is scheduled to take place between 3-15 November. The aircraft arrived at Natal on Sunday 14 October. Colombia is sending a KC-767 tanker to participate in the exercise, and will no doubt be watching operations with great interest.
Brazil’s Gripen acquisition has also been in the news because the US Department of Justice (DoJ) issued Saab with subpoena a 10 October 2024, requesting information from Saab North America, Inc. regarding Brazil’s acquisition of Gripen fighters. This procurement was the result of the FX-2 project which ran from 2008- 2014, and the US State Department recently opened an investigation into the contract. Saab has said that it intends to comply with the request to supply information and to co-operate with the DoJ in this matter. Both Brazilian and Swedish authorities have previously investigated parts of the Brazilian fighter procurement process. These investigations were closed without any conclusive evidence from Brazilian authorities and having failed to indicate any wrongdoing by Saab.
