By Johan Ahlander
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish defence firm SAAB is confident that a deal to provide Colombia with new combat aircraft will go through and could lead to more business in South America for the company.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on X on Thursday that the South American country had selected SAAB’s JAS 39 Gripen aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Israeli fighter jets.
“There is no contract yet but there is of course a very high probability that we will succeed with this. They have publicly said they have chosen us,” SAAB CEO Micael Johansson told Reuters on Friday.
Johansson declined to provide a value for the potential deal, saying it would depend on how many planes Colombia buys as well as any additional services such as training and maintenance.
Colombia had a choice between the JAS 39 Gripen, French Dassault-made Rafale, and the U.S. firm Lockheed Martin’s F-16 jets, the commander of its Aerospace Force said on Thursday, and plans to buy 16 to 24 Gripens.
Neighbour Brazil has already purchased 36 JAS 39 Gripen jets from SAAB and built an assembly plant for the aircraft in the country in partnership with SAAB.
Brazil’s order was a big factor in Colombia choosing SAAB, Johansson said.
“It is really important, they look at each other, of course,” he said, adding that he hoped SAAB could benefit from this when neighbouring Peru was ready to place its next fighter jet order.
Johansson also said it was important to establish a local operation in South America to secure supply chains.
(This story has been corrected to fix a typo in the headline)
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
