The Colombian government has made its choice, the French Rafale fighters will be the new aircraft to integrate the Colombian Air Force fleet, replacing the old IAI Kfir fighters. The confirmation of the choice of the new plane took place on the morning of this Wednesday (21).

Colombia selected the French offer to purchase the Rafale fighter jets due to the purchase price as well as operational efficiency. A few days ago, President Gustavo Petro made statements last Saturday (17) during a promotion ceremony for general officers that the country had been seeking a replacement for its IAI Kfir jets for at least 10 years.

The IAI Kfir fighters are close to fulfilling their useful life according to the Colombian president, which makes it necessary to modernize and replace the fleet with a more modern and efficient model.

According to the agent, the purchase of the Rafale will not interfere with public coffers as the negotiations were carried out with long grace periods.

“We have taken some administrative decisions so that these instruments of national security arrive here in the coming years”, he emphasized. He also stated that the purchase of new fighter jets will be a billionaire investment, at a strategic level, but guaranteed that it will not affect public accounts.

The choice of the French fighter surprised the military air sector, which took Colombia's purchase of American F-16 jets or the Swedish Gripen for granted. The Rafale line of jets was also part of the Brazilian FX-2 project, which competed with the Gripen and the Super Hornet, in which the Swedish jet ended up winning.

“There was no conversation with the US government, it is an exclusive decision of the Colombian government. What President Petro proposed is to achieve the best benefits for the country. If this consolidates, it will be the most profitable purchase for Colombia”, said the minister.

The FAC currently has around 19 Kfir fighters, an Israeli version of the third-generation Dassault Mirage V. The jets were recently modernized, but the airframes are already at the end of their useful life. In this way, the FAC has been trying to acquire new planes, but it ends up bumping into budget constraints.

With information Bluradio