The program to replace the Colombian Air Force's Kfirs has been the subject of many twists and turns in recent years. Now, it seems that the die has been cast, as Washington and Lockheed Martin have made a very attractive offer to Bogota, perhaps even too attractive.
Indeed, while the CAF continues to favor a European offer, Washington is said to have presented an offer that would be difficult to refuse to President Gustavo Petro, including rapid deliveries of F-16Vs, competitive prices, significant economic compensation and even donations of combat aircraft, to ensure the interim of the Kfir.
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Lockheed Martin's F-16V discarded by Colombian Air Force
Yet things didn't start well for Lockheed Martin's single-engine fighter in Colombia. Indeed, during the initial competition in 2022, the F-16V was quickly dismissed by the Colombian Air Force, which favored a heavier, twin-engine aircraft to meet its needs.
So, at the end of this competition, in December 2022, it was the Rafale of Dassault Aviation which was declared the winnerHowever, the Colombian authorities were overly enthusiastic in this announcement, since the contractual framework had not been defined.
Thus, Bogotá could only acquire 3 aircraft, with an envelope of only $678 million available for the first tranche of the contract. For Dassault Aviation, this approach was insufficient to initiate a complete industrial process. An aggravating factor was that the envelope had only been granted by the Colombian Parliament until December 31, 2022.
In the absence of an agreement within the time limit, The Colombian government announced the postponement of the competition, with a new phase of consultations to be launched shortly, which was far from satisfying the Colombian Air Force, whose availability of the Israeli Kfirs still in service already posed significant difficulties.
A sense of urgency is invited into the Colombian competition
For the Colombian government, however, this urgency was only secondary, and until November 2023, the program seemed to be moving very slowly. It was at that point that President Petro had an altercation, through the press, with the Israeli ambassador to Colombia.
The South American head of state had, in fact, refused to describe the pogrom of October 7 as a terrorist attack, which provoked the ire of Jerusalem. Shortly afterwards, the Israeli authorities announced that they would terminate defense contracts with Colombia when they expired.
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