Expodefensa 2025: Sweden’s Saab presents Gripen E fighter as 17 jet deal reshapes Colombia’s air power.

Saab is showcasing the Gripen E at Expodefensa 2025 in Bogotá just weeks after sealing a 3.1 billion euro contract for 17 Gripen E/F fighters that will recapitalize Colombia’s Fuerza Aeroespacial. The package couples a latest-generation fighter and advanced weapons with long-term logistics, financing, and industrial projects in energy, water, and high technology that are designed to ease political and budget pressure in Bogotá.

At Expodefensa 2025 in Bogotá, Saab is using the Gripen E as the centerpiece of its stand at a moment when Colombia is moving from selection to execution of its new fighter program. The government has now signed for a squadron of 17 Gripen E/F aircraft worth about 3.1 billion euros, with deliveries planned between 2026 and 2032, and the Swedish manufacturer is detailing how the aircraft, mission systems, weapons, and industrial offsets will be packaged under a broader government-to-government framework.
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The Saab Gripen E Fighter displayed at Expodefensa 2025 in Bogotá, presented as Colombia’s future air-superiority capability. (Picture source: Saab)

The Gripen E/F selected by Colombia belongs to the latest generation developed for Sweden and Brazil. The aircraft is powered by a General Electric F414-GE-39E turbofan delivering about 98 kN of thrust, derived from the F414 family, which provides roughly a quarter more thrust than the earlier F404 engines and ensures stable performance in hot and high conditions, particularly over the Andes. The slightly enlarged airframe carries more internal fuel and offers ten external hardpoints for around 7,200 kg of payload, complemented by an internal 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon with 120 rounds on the single-seat version. This compact configuration allows the Colombian Air Force to combine range, endurance, and payload for air policing, maritime patrol, and precision strike missions.

The Colombian choice also rests on a sensor architecture judged suitable for regional requirements. The Gripen E is equipped with a Raven ES-05 active electronically scanned array radar developed with Leonardo, mounted on a repositionable antenna providing a search sector of about ±100 degrees, which improves detection during manoeuvre. This radar is paired with the Skyward-G infrared search and track system, which enables passive detection of aircraft and missiles without radar emissions, and with a dense set of electronic warfare systems feeding the wide area cockpit display. For the Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana, this combination supports the creation of a recognised air picture and a robust common operational picture, including in a contested electromagnetic environment.

More broadly, the E-series relies on modular avionics that separate flight-critical functions from mission applications, which allows fast software updates to integrate new weapons, algorithms, or countermeasures as threats evolve. Saab highlights close human-machine cooperation, with a cockpit centred on a large-wide-area display and decision-support functions that synthesise data from sensors, datalinks, and electronic warfare systems. The aircraft can be turned around in ten to twenty minutes by a small ground crew, can operate from dispersed bases or roads, and is intended to maintain high availability in extreme climates.

The 1 December 2025 press release specifies that the proposal submitted to Colombia includes fifteen single-seat Gripen E and two two-seat Gripen F, simulators, self-protection systems, radars, training equipment, spare parts, and full logistical support. Saab states that negotiations take place without intermediaries, directly between the company, the Colombian official counterpart, and the Swedish government, in a framework that complies with OECD guidelines. The financial package spreads payments over seven years to limit the impact of inflation and price fluctuations, while the industrial cooperation component includes projects in renewable energy, solar panel production in the Caribbean region, drinking water supply through desalination in La Guajira, and technology transfers in aeronautics and cybersecurity for the Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana.

From a tactical perspective, the proposed weapons fit corresponds to Colombia’s requirements for regional air superiority. The Gripen E can carry the Meteor long-range air-to-air missile, whose ramjet propulsion and publicly stated range close to 200 km provide a large no-escape zone compared with previous generations. At shorter ranges, missiles such as IRIS-T or AIM-9 offer high off-boresight engagement capability, while AGM-65 Maverick missiles, guided bombs, and RBS-15 anti-ship missiles cover air-to-surface and maritime roles. For the Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana, a single squadron equipped with Gripen E/F can shift within days from air policing over the Amazon or Andean corridors to sea-control missions in the Caribbean or along the Pacific coast without changing aircraft type.

Colombia’s interest in adopting this system is also linked to the urgent replacement of the Kfir fleet, whose availability is decreasing while maintenance costs are rising. The range of the Gripen E, its ability to operate from short runways, its sensor suite, and its potential for software evolution match the geographical and operational constraints of a country with mountainous terrain and large maritime spaces. The long-term Swedish-backed credit line and the industrial benefits in energy, water, and high technology strengthen the political and economic acceptability of the programme in Bogotá, with a view to service over several decades.

As a manufacturer, Saab consolidates through this project its position as a supplier of combat systems for medium-sized air forces seeking to modernise their fleets without relying on very large programmes. In total, 117 aircraft from the Gripen E-series have been ordered, including sixty by Sweden, thirty-six by Brazil, seventeen by Colombia, and four by Thailand. The gradual spread of the Gripen E in Latin America, with Brazil as the first operator and Colombia as a future second user, helps structure a regional core around a single platform, with potential cooperation in training, maintenance, and operational doctrine. This trend reflects both Saab’s strategy as an industrial actor and the growing presence of this fighter within several air forces, which view it as a tool for air superiority adapted to their budgetary and geopolitical constraints.