Peru's government has begun implementing funding for the procurement of new fighters, allocating $340 million toward a 4+ generation fighter acquisition program with a total planned expenditure of $3.4 billion. The bulk of this will be financed through national bank loans and bond issuance.
According to defense publication Defensa, despite the official announcement containing no mention of the fighter model, documentation reviewed indicates specifically the procurement of F-16 Block 70 aircraft. The purchase will be carried out in two phases of 12 aircraft each. The contract for the first batch of F-16 Block 70s will be signed in June this year.
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This documentary commitment to American fighters has been made even though results from the competitive selection, which also included French Rafale and Swedish Gripen have not yet been officially announced. Saab even stated it would fight to the end for Peru.
Defense Express notes that after a complete change of government resulting from a political crisis, the new administration has publicly confirmed the choice of F-16 Block 70, explaining the procurement on political grounds of closer alignment with the U.S. Peru's Prime Minister Ernest Alvarez stated this directly. The question of how exactly Peru intends to purchase 24 F-16 Block 70s for $3.4 billion given the U.S. government's ceiling price of $3.42 billion for 12 fighters with a minimal weapons package, meaning $285 million per fighter remains unclear.
The fighter procurement itself has sparked quite vigorous debate in Peru. The previous government evidently leaned toward Swedish Gripens. Their price, based on the Colombia contract, stands at $220 million (originally €184.4 million per fighter) in a comprehensive package, according to the disclosed and state-audited price for procurement of 17 units. Therefore, the rationale for procuring the more expensive F-16 Block 70 requires additional explanation.
As is traditional for South American countries, debate has also arisen over the need to spend money on armaments at all. Peru's President José Hery, as reported by La República, clarified that the actual state of the country's air force is significantly worse than what appears on paper.
The only thing that can be said with certainty is that the Ministry of Defense is making this procurement following the Peruvian Air Force's proposal. We need to acquire 24 fighters because we have an obsolete fleet. We have only two aircraft remaining in service, and their service life is coming to an end, the Peruvian president stated.
Defense Express notes that formally, on paper, the Peruvian Air Force has up to 12 Mirage 2000P/DP units, up to 19 MiG-29s, plus up to 18 Su-25s. However, the French fighters were purchased in 1982 and delivered by 1987. The Soviet aircraft were purchased from Belarus in 1996, with the absolute majority of these aircraft known to be in non-flyable condition.
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