Colombia finalizes the purchase of its new combat aircraft

The Colombian Government will sign before the end of next January -if not before- the purchase of its future air superiority fighter. The decision is the product of a process that took place in the last four months, headed by President Gustavo Petro.

Although the decision on the model has already been made, it has not been made public, so the different bidders have presented proposals until the last moment that have attracted the attention of the Government to a greater or lesser degree.

However, as Infodefensa.com has been able to confirm, Petro would have already communicated his decision to the leadership of the Armed Forces and the Air Force Command, subtracting only the signing of the respective contracts.

In fact, the president announced, on December 17, during the promotion ceremony of 42 new Armed Forces generals, his willingness to acquire new aircraft as well as a new deterrent defense system, without specifying the type of equipment.

RAFALE PLANES

Petro’s announcement comes after the visit, earlier this month, of a commission from the French Ministry of Finance to Bogotá, a meeting in which the financing conditions for a possible aircraft purchase process were made known to the Government. Dassault Aviation Rafale C/F3 type. In addition, a delegation of officers and non-commissioned officers from the Colombian Air Force is about to travel to France in the coming weeks.

Thus, the purchase of the aircraft would be financed, in 20 years, directly by the French government with a strong investment in offset matters through a panoply of companies from the French defense sector aimed at strengthening the Colombian industry (of a dual nature), as well as aerospace (Facsat-2 satellite) and within NATO standards, including the latter doctrinal training, training, technical training and assistance from the Air Force.

GRIPEN

On the other hand, the Saab Gripen NG model is of great interest to the Defense Minister, Iván Velásquez, who considers the offer of the Swedish company very attractive, which has been very thorough in making its model known to the Colombian public and even to members of the country’s parliament, who have also had the opportunity to visit the facilities where they are manufactured.

The intention of the Air Force (FAC) is to acquire a considerable number of new aircraft, although initially it would sign for a package of 12 to 15 units, hoping to establish the systems that will integrate the model to be purchased, in technical conversations that would be advanced for such purposes.

With information from Infodefensa.com

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