Colombia, which cut ties with Israel, to replace aging Israeli fighter jets with Swedish
Bogota says maintaining Kfir aircraft too complicated after severing relations with Jerusalem last year, though previous governments had also planned to replace them
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia said Thursday it will buy up to 24 fighter jets from Swedish company Saab to replace aging Israeli aircraft whose maintenance has become complicated after the South American nation broke diplomatic ties with Israel over its war with the Hamas terror group.
Colombia’s Aerospace Force chief commander, Carlos Fernando Silva, said Thursday they are still working on the details of the contract with Saab, so in the end the number of planes could be less than 24.
Sweden’s Defense Minister Pal Jonson confirmed on X that negotiations are under way.
Colombia has 22 Israeli-made Kfir fighter jets purchased in the late 1980s, and any maintenance can only be done by an Israeli firm.
Those aircrafts were used in several attacks on remote guerrilla camps that debilitated the then-Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The offensives helped push the rebel group into peace talks that resulted in its disarmament in 2016.
Although the new purchase plans were announced amid a lack of diplomatic relations with Israel, the last three governments in Colombia already had cited intentions to replace the Kfir jets.
The administration of current President Gustavo Petro started reviewing specific offers from countries like France, the United States and Sweden.
The Aerospace Force chief commander said that the Kfir planes will continue to operate for now. Once the new contract is finalized, the old planes will be replaced as the new ones arrive.
The Swedish ambassador to Colombia, Helena Storm, said that this announcement shows the good bilateral relations between the two countries.
Colombia announced in 2024 that it was breaking diplomatic relations with Israel over the Israel-Hamas war, amid an escalation of tensions between Bogota and Jerusalem.
Last month, Petro posted footage of himself in Qatar holding a picture of Israel replaced with a Palestinian state.
Petro has described the ongoing war in Gaza, which began with the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023 massacre and hostage-taking in southern Israel, as a “genocide” by Israel against Palestinians.
Israel has denied all accusations of genocide and insists that all its war-fighting is in accordance with international law, noting its own efforts to avoid civilian casualties despite the Hamas terror group’s systematic use of human shields.
Bogota also supports South Africa’s case in the International Court Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.