Colombia and French aircraft maker Dassault failed to finalize negotiations for Bogota’s acquisition of Rafale fighter jets by the deadline, Colombia’s Defense Ministry announced Monday.
The acquisition of the French aircraft, whose announcement was made official on December 21, should be formalized before the end of 2022, as stipulated by the National Council for Economic and Social Policy (Conpes), an advisory body of the Colombian Executive. who had approved the budget for the purchase of the devices.
Colombia had announced plans to buy 16 Rafale for an amount of three billion euros to replace its Israeli Kfir fighters.
other priorities
The Rafales are “the best option for the country in terms of price, efficiency and operability,” the Colombian presidency had indicated, saying it had “pre-selected the French government’s offer.” At the same time, Colombia was negotiating the acquisition of Swedish Gripen aircraft.
He specified that the amount approved by Conpes was 678 million dollars, enough to buy “three or four” Rafale aircraft. Iván Velásquez added that the Colombian government will soon decide whether to re-examine the French plane maker’s offers.
The process of acquiring combat aircraft by Colombia began under the right-wing government of Iván Duque (2018-2022), predecessor of the current left-wing head of state Gustavo Petro.
Before coming to power in August, the latter had opposed the purchase of new fighter jets. He later changed his mind, drawing criticism from some members of the ruling party who believe the government has other priorities.
Source: BFM TV
