Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F has come close to a potential acquisition contract, its first since 2014. During a meeting with a Swedish ambassador, the President of Colombia Gustavo Petro announced his signing a letter of intent to procure the fighter jet on April 3, a firm contract is about to be finalized later.
The upcoming deal also includes compensatory investments from Sweden in the humanitarian and energy infrastructure of Colombia. Pål Jonson, the Swedish Minister for Defense, welcomed the Colombians' decision to choose Gripen and specified that negotiations for the next step are already underway.
Read more: Only Two out of 26 Gripen Fighters Airworthy in South African Forces: How Could This Happen
However, there is a possibility that the United States will veto this contract by withholding the permit to re-export its General Electric F414G engines, used in the Gripen E/F models. On that note, it's worth reminding that Saab once considered swapping the engine in favor of a local alternative, a variant of the EJ200 usually found in Eurofighter Typhoon, which is becoming increasingly relevant over Washington's aggressive politics towards Europe.
The agreement on Gripens for the Colombian Aerospace Force is expected to be concluded at the F-Air Colombia 2025 air show, to take place in July 2025. Neither the number of aircraft discussed nor the price are detailed officially yet.
But having dug into the publicly available budgetary records of the Colombian Ministry of Defense, journalists from Opex360 found a funding request for 16 JAS-39 Gripen E/F jets for $3.65 billion. A rough calculation gives the estimated price per latest modifications of Gripen, currently standing at $228.12 million per unit in a comprehensive supply package (incl. spares, weapons, manuals, training, etc.)
Defense Express notes that these numbers remain unverified and only the official announcement at the contract signing would be a reliable assessment, as the factual price tends to differ from the budget forecasts. In general, though, the figures align with the most pessimistic expert forecasts and debunks Gripen's reputation of a relatively cheap fighter rooted in the broader audience.
That's largely because its last acquisition by Brazil in 2014 cost the government only $5.44 billion for a whole fleet of 36 aircraft with a high share of local production. That makes about $151 million per fighter. Since then, the price has surged: just taking into account dollar inflation over these 11 years, it would already rise to some $203.5 million.
With an estimated price of $228.12 mln per unit, JAS 39 Gripen is comparable to French Dassault Rafale. According to the latest contract with Serbia signed August 2024, Rafale costs around €225 million apiece. Then, the approximated price for a F-16V, based on a sales permit to the Philippines published just the other day, is up to $279 million per fighter. Lastly, a F-35 costs nearly $208.3 million per unit, as follows from a 2023 contract with the Czech Republic.
That is, once again we see the confirmation that in modern security realities, previous 4+ generation fighters can be priced higher than the latest 5th generation combat aircraft.
Earlier Defense Express analyzed if France with its Rafale fighters and SAMP/T missile defense systems is up to the challenge of competing with American F-35 and Patriot on production speeds, and why London defends its decision to complete the American F-35 purchase despite the fears of the "kill switch" held by Washington.
Read more: France Offers Rafale and SAMP/T Instead of F-35 and Patriot — But Can It Compete on Production Speed?
