Colombia will buy fighter planes from Sweden to replace its aging Israeli aircraft after declining proposals from the United States and France, President Gustavo Petro has said. The Latin American nation is facing its worst security crisis in years in the face of violence by guerrillas, drug cartels and other armed groups, which are gaining strength. Bogota has weighed multiple options over the past decade as its Kfir fighters become increasingly outdated.

Colombia will purchase Saab 39 Gripen jets that are "completely new, with the latest technology," Petro wrote Wednesday in a post on social media platform X. Petro did not specify the value of the deal or the number of aircraft the Colombian air force would buy. In 2022, Colombia said it was considering buying 16 Rafale fighter jets from French manufacturer Dassault after looking at Swedish Gripen and US F-16 planes.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)