Colombian Aerospace Force Gripen E/F Ordered

Colombia signed a contract with Saab for 17 Gripen E/F fighters, ending a long-running effort to replace the IAI Kfir aircraft it had flown since the 1980s and which were withdrawn without a successor. The selection followed evaluation against the F-16 and the Rafale, and the package includes training, sustainment and industrial cooperation. The purchase restores a credible Colombian air combat capability and makes Colombia the third South American Gripen operator alongside Brazil and, prospectively, Peru before Lima reversed to the F-16.