Colombia purchased 17 Gripen warplanes from Sweden

Published at: 15/11/2025 11:41 AM

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, signed a contract this week to buy 17 Gripen warplanes from the Kingdom of Sweden for a cost of 16.5 trillion pesos (about 4.4 billion dollars at the current exchange rate), reported the Prensa Latina website.

The signing of the agreement took place at the Marco Fidel Suárez Air Base in Cali, where the president attended to lead the ceremony commemorating the one hundred and sixth anniversary of the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC).

President Petro said that the closing of the pact marks a historic moment for the country. “The contract for 16.5 billion pesos is being signed between the Colombian Ministry of Defense and the Swedish company Saab for the acquisition of 17 Gripen aircraft, air superiority aircraft with the highest technology that will strengthen security and defense and will have an impact of social and environmental responsibility in energy, water and health issues,” he explained.

He also stressed that the agreement symbolizes much more than an acquisition of strategic capacities, since “it represents a partnership between two nations that believe in peace, progress and the defense of life.”

He added that the alliance renews the will of both countries to build together a path of cooperation, respect and shared development.

“With the signing of the agreement for the acquisition of air superiority aircraft, we are celebrating a new chapter in a relationship built on 151 years of friendship, trust and mutual cooperation,” said the president.

“Here I put my signature and I hope for 150 more years of friendship and understanding between Sweden and Colombia,” he remarked.

As previously announced, the new aircraft will replace the Israeli IAI Kfir, with more than 40 years of service and which have already reached the limit of their useful life despite successive modernizations. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2027 and would end in 2032.

A Gripen aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414G engine, in addition to being equipped with AESA Raven ES-05 radar and a Skyward-G infrared system, which gives it great situational awareness and capacity to operate in war scenarios.

Mazo News Team