Gabriela Araujo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saab has made an offer to Colombia to buy an undisclosed number of Gripen fighters and is considering a potential deal to sell the fighters to Peru, the chief executive of the Swedish defense company told Reuters on Monday.

Last week, a Swedish public radio station reported, citing anonymous sources, that Colombia would buy a fleet of JAS Gripen jets made by Saab, which has a production line in neighboring Brazil.

“We offered them a kind of full-value offer. They are assessing it and now we are waiting for an answer,” Micael Johansson said in an interview. “I think we have a good offer, but of course it is not always without competition.”

Over the weekend, Brazil agreed to increase its order for 36 JAS 39 Gripen fighters by 25% in a deal that also included Sweden selecting Brazilian planemaker Embraer’s C-390 military transport aircraft for its fleet.

The letter of intent was signed on Saturday by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson and his Brazilian counterpart Jose Mucio, and the final agreement is still not ready.

Johansson said the move was “extremely good news” for Saab and noted that it should also allow more Gripens to be assembled at Embraer’s Gaviao Peixoto plant in Sao Paulo state, where a joint production line opened last year.

The initial contract included the production of 15 aircraft in Brazil. Saab and Embraer plan to make the Gaviao Peixoto plant the fighter jet’s production center in Latin America as it could facilitate deals and exports of the planes.

In 2023, Reuters reported that Brazil was considering buying more Gripen fighters, and Saab was eyeing potential purchases by Colombia and Peru as part of a bid to raise sales in South America.

“It makes sense to work at this facility in Brazil if we have the opportunity to convince Colombia and Peru to choose Gripen,” Johansson said, adding that the Colombian sales campaign had outpaced the delivery of the proposal.

“But Peru is also a very engaging market because it has publicly stated that it has prepared a budget to launch the acquisition. So, of course, we also take part in this competition,” he noted.

Saab shares closed down about 4% on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on Monday.