Swedish defense contractor Saab has made an offer for the sale of its JAS 39 Gripen light supersonic aircraft to Colombia.
The potential contract of an undisclosed number of Gripens with Bogotá was first revealed unofficially by Swedish public news agency Sveriges Radio, according to Reuters.
In a recent interview, Saab CEO Micael Johansson confirmed this, saying that the Stockholm-based company committed to a “full-fledged” proposal to the Latin American country.
“I think we have a good offer, but it’s of course not ever without competition,” Johansson stated.
Brazilian Gripen Expansion, Potential Peruvian Deal
The remark came after the Swedish government’s signing of a defense agreement with Colombia’s neighboring country Brazil last weekend to increase the latter’s Gripen fleet by 25 percent.
The long-standing fighter jet program with Sweden and Brazil was initiated in 2014, with about 36 ordered for the South American nation.
To date, the Scandinavian country is in the process of completing eight more deliveries for Brasília. Saab opened a facility in Brazil in 2023 to support the fighter jet’s production.
This same hub will be used to manufacture 15 aircraft under Brazil’s latest Grpien expansion effort.
Saab and São Paulo industry partner Embraer plan to make the site a primary Gripen factory for another potential deal with Peru and future orders from other Latin American customers.
“It makes sense to work from this hub in Brazil if we have the opportunity to also convince Colombia and Peru about selecting the Gripen,” Johansson said in the Reuters update.
“But Peru is also a very interesting market since they have publicly said that they have created a budget to start this acquisition. So of course we are in that competition as well.”
Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen
The Gripen aircraft has an overall length of 16 meters (52 feet) and a wingspan of 9 meters (30 feet).
The platform can carry up to 7,200 kilograms (15,873 pounds) of payload and travel at 2,100 kilometers (1,305 miles) per hour).
It is powered by a General Electric F414 afterburning turbofan engine and is armed with air-to-air, air-to-ground, and anti-ship missiles.