Colombia set to sign $1.9B deal for 18 Saab Gripen E fighter jets
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Colombia will sign a $1.9B deal with Sweden in October 2025 for 18 Gripen E jets, after rejecting U.S. F-16 and French Rafale offers.
As reported by Infobae on October 2, 2025, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that Colombia will sign a $1.9 billion contract with Sweden in October 2025 to acquire 18 Saab Gripen E fighter jets, pending final adjustments on offset conditions. The financing will be secured through a long-term credit from the Swedish government, including an eight-year grace period, making it one of the most significant defense investments in Colombia’s history.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Gripen E itself is the most advanced variant of Saab’s multirole fighter family, originally conceived in the 1980s as a lightweight replacement for Sweden’s Draken and Viggen fleets. (Picture source: Saab)
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that only final adjustments on offset conditions remain before the official signing with the Presidency. The purchase will be financed by the Swedish government through a long-term credit line that includes an initial grace period of eight years, making the contract one of Colombia’s largest defense acquisitions in decades. According to the Ministry of Defense, the operation represents an estimated 16 billion pesos and is framed as a long-term modernization program that will provide Colombia with combat aircraft intended to serve for the next fifty years. The offset agreements linked to the contract include technology transfer and social projects in areas such as renewable energy, access to potable water, and the strengthening of healthcare infrastructure, ensuring that the procurement extends beyond the purely military sphere.
The need to replace the Kfir fleet had become urgent due to obsolescence and escalating maintenance costs. The Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana reported that some aircraft had to be cannibalized, using spare parts from non-operational units to keep others in flight, a process that highlighted the unsustainability of the existing fleet. Earlier procurement options included the French Rafale and the American F-16, but Colombia faced financial and logistical barriers that prevented agreements from moving forward. In 2018, Colombia issued a Letter of Request to the United States for pricing and availability of 18 F-16C/D aircraft, but the operational and maintenance costs, along with infrastructure adjustments, reduced its feasibility. The Rafale F4 was also evaluated, but its cost exceeded Colombia’s budget constraints. This left Saab’s Gripen as the most viable option, offering a combination of favorable financing conditions, offset agreements, and operational adaptability suitable for Colombia’s defense requirements.
The government’s final decision followed a prolonged negotiation process that also involved political debates and competing international offers. For instance, China offered Colombia 24 J-10CE fighter jets during a state visit in May 2025, proposing financing and short delivery timelines, while emphasizing operational use of the aircraft by Pakistan. The United States continued to promote F-16 Block 70/72 packages, but Saab’s proposal prevailed due to its financial conditions, offset structure, and the prospect of regional cooperation with Brazil. Despite concerns about potential U.S. restrictions on the export of the F414 engine that powers the Gripen E, Colombian authorities determined that the agreement would ensure greater sovereignty and modernization compared to other offers, while positioning Colombia as the second operator of the Gripen E in Latin America, after Brazil.
The Gripen itself dates back to the late 1980s, when Sweden developed a lightweight multirole aircraft to replace its Saab 35 Draken and Saab 37 Viggen fleets. The first versions, the Gripen A/B, entered service in the 1990s, followed by the upgraded C/D variants, which enhanced NATO interoperability and included in-flight refueling capability. The Gripen E, also known as Gripen NG, is the latest generation and incorporates a larger fuselage, greater fuel capacity, a new avionics architecture, and increased payload options. The program was developed in close cooperation with Brazil, which ordered 36 Gripen E/F aircraft in 2014, and has since established a local assembly line operated by Embraer. For Colombia, the Brazilian experience offers lessons in industrial integration and operational transition that are expected to reduce risk and improve efficiency during the introduction of the new aircraft.
The Gripen E is powered by the General Electric F414G turbofan engine, which produces up to 98 kN of thrust and allows the aircraft to reach speeds of Mach 2. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 16,500 kilograms, a combat radius of over 1,300 kilometers without aerial refueling, and is capable of operating at altitudes above 16,000 meters. Its design combines a delta wing with canards and digital fly-by-wire controls, which together enhance maneuverability and stability. The aircraft is designed for dispersed basing, with the ability to take off from short or semi-prepared runways, making it adaptable to Colombia’s geography, which includes rugged terrain and limited infrastructure. Its modular avionics architecture separates mission systems from flight-critical software, allowing for rapid integration of new capabilities without recertifying the core systems, which shortens adaptation cycles.
The Gripen E is configured as a multirole platform equipped for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and reconnaissance missions. It has ten external hardpoints capable of carrying a wide range of weapons and external pods, in addition to its internal Mauser BK-27 cannon. Air-to-air armament options include Meteor beyond-visual-range missiles and IRIS-T within-visual-range missiles, while its ground attack capability includes precision-guided bombs and various air-to-surface munitions. Additionally, the Gripen was created for the highest operational availability, with turnaround times under 20 minutes for refueling and rearming, even with limited ground crews. Its 360-degree electronic warfare suite includes radar warning receivers, missile approach warning systems, and jamming pods.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
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Colombia will sign a $1.9B deal with Sweden in October 2025 for 18 Gripen E jets, after rejecting U.S. F-16 and French Rafale offers.
As reported by Infobae on October 2, 2025, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that Colombia will sign a $1.9 billion contract with Sweden in October 2025 to acquire 18 Saab Gripen E fighter jets, pending final adjustments on offset conditions. The financing will be secured through a long-term credit from the Swedish government, including an eight-year grace period, making it one of the most significant defense investments in Colombia’s history.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Gripen E itself is the most advanced variant of Saab’s multirole fighter family, originally conceived in the 1980s as a lightweight replacement for Sweden’s Draken and Viggen fleets. (Picture source: Saab)
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed that only final adjustments on offset conditions remain before the official signing with the Presidency. The purchase will be financed by the Swedish government through a long-term credit line that includes an initial grace period of eight years, making the contract one of Colombia’s largest defense acquisitions in decades. According to the Ministry of Defense, the operation represents an estimated 16 billion pesos and is framed as a long-term modernization program that will provide Colombia with combat aircraft intended to serve for the next fifty years. The offset agreements linked to the contract include technology transfer and social projects in areas such as renewable energy, access to potable water, and the strengthening of healthcare infrastructure, ensuring that the procurement extends beyond the purely military sphere.
The need to replace the Kfir fleet had become urgent due to obsolescence and escalating maintenance costs. The Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana reported that some aircraft had to be cannibalized, using spare parts from non-operational units to keep others in flight, a process that highlighted the unsustainability of the existing fleet. Earlier procurement options included the French Rafale and the American F-16, but Colombia faced financial and logistical barriers that prevented agreements from moving forward. In 2018, Colombia issued a Letter of Request to the United States for pricing and availability of 18 F-16C/D aircraft, but the operational and maintenance costs, along with infrastructure adjustments, reduced its feasibility. The Rafale F4 was also evaluated, but its cost exceeded Colombia’s budget constraints. This left Saab’s Gripen as the most viable option, offering a combination of favorable financing conditions, offset agreements, and operational adaptability suitable for Colombia’s defense requirements.
The government’s final decision followed a prolonged negotiation process that also involved political debates and competing international offers. For instance, China offered Colombia 24 J-10CE fighter jets during a state visit in May 2025, proposing financing and short delivery timelines, while emphasizing operational use of the aircraft by Pakistan. The United States continued to promote F-16 Block 70/72 packages, but Saab’s proposal prevailed due to its financial conditions, offset structure, and the prospect of regional cooperation with Brazil. Despite concerns about potential U.S. restrictions on the export of the F414 engine that powers the Gripen E, Colombian authorities determined that the agreement would ensure greater sovereignty and modernization compared to other offers, while positioning Colombia as the second operator of the Gripen E in Latin America, after Brazil.
The Gripen itself dates back to the late 1980s, when Sweden developed a lightweight multirole aircraft to replace its Saab 35 Draken and Saab 37 Viggen fleets. The first versions, the Gripen A/B, entered service in the 1990s, followed by the upgraded C/D variants, which enhanced NATO interoperability and included in-flight refueling capability. The Gripen E, also known as Gripen NG, is the latest generation and incorporates a larger fuselage, greater fuel capacity, a new avionics architecture, and increased payload options. The program was developed in close cooperation with Brazil, which ordered 36 Gripen E/F aircraft in 2014, and has since established a local assembly line operated by Embraer. For Colombia, the Brazilian experience offers lessons in industrial integration and operational transition that are expected to reduce risk and improve efficiency during the introduction of the new aircraft.
The Gripen E is powered by the General Electric F414G turbofan engine, which produces up to 98 kN of thrust and allows the aircraft to reach speeds of Mach 2. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 16,500 kilograms, a combat radius of over 1,300 kilometers without aerial refueling, and is capable of operating at altitudes above 16,000 meters. Its design combines a delta wing with canards and digital fly-by-wire controls, which together enhance maneuverability and stability. The aircraft is designed for dispersed basing, with the ability to take off from short or semi-prepared runways, making it adaptable to Colombia’s geography, which includes rugged terrain and limited infrastructure. Its modular avionics architecture separates mission systems from flight-critical software, allowing for rapid integration of new capabilities without recertifying the core systems, which shortens adaptation cycles.
The Gripen E is configured as a multirole platform equipped for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and reconnaissance missions. It has ten external hardpoints capable of carrying a wide range of weapons and external pods, in addition to its internal Mauser BK-27 cannon. Air-to-air armament options include Meteor beyond-visual-range missiles and IRIS-T within-visual-range missiles, while its ground attack capability includes precision-guided bombs and various air-to-surface munitions. Additionally, the Gripen was created for the highest operational availability, with turnaround times under 20 minutes for refueling and rearming, even with limited ground crews. Its 360-degree electronic warfare suite includes radar warning receivers, missile approach warning systems, and jamming pods.
Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.
