Will Colombia choose the SAAb Gripen fighter jet or Lockheed Martin's F-16.

Will Colombia choose the SAAb Gripen fighter jet or Lockheed Martin's F-16.

Colombia relaunches plans to buy fighter jets,
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has reactivated the process to acquire new fighter jets to replace the country’s aging Kfir fleet.

Petro’s decision may come as a surprise given his stance earlier this year on the campaign trail, when he said the purchase of combat aircraft or other military hardware would not be a priority during his time in office, if elected.

Military sources in the capital Bogota, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their careers, told Defense News that the credit for Petro’s U-turn belongs to Gen. Luis Carlos Córdoba, the chief of the Colombian Air Force. They explained that Córdoba convinced Defense Minister Iván Velásquez about the urgent need to replace at least part of the Kfir fleet, which will begin retirements later this year, and Velásquez in turn persuaded the president.

Since 1989, Colombia has acquired 24 Kfir jets, made by Israel Aerospace Industries. To counterbalance the acquisition of Sukhoi Su-32 fighters by Venezuela, Colombia’s Kfir fleet underwent upgrades between 2009 and 2017 performed by IAI’s Lahav Division.

The last upgrade, to the C-60 standard, involved fitting Elta Systems’ ELM-2032 active electronically scanned array radar and a data link as well as integrating Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ Derby weapon — an air-to-air, beyond-visual-range missile. IAI says that standard is equivalent to the F-16 Block 52.